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November 1st, 2015 
Awake Goy 
Scientists are marveling at a keenly evolved canine, not only because of
its physical qualities, but for the rapid expansion of the population
as well. One key question remains unsettled by biologists with regards
to the coywolf:
Is it actually a different species? ~ Videos – Documentary
In the northeastern region of North America, a century or two ago,
wolves were in trouble. Humans were fundamentally altering their
habitat, chopping down trees and creating new farmlands for themselves.
Wolves saw fewer of their own kind, but more coyotes coming across the
plains as well as the farmers’ dogs.
Apparently the wolves liked
what they saw, or as biologists describe it, they had no other choice.
What resulted from their crossbreeding is being called “amazing.”
Instead of a weaker offspring, what emerged was more advanced in
seemingly every sense. Dr. Roland Kays of North Carolina State
University described it as an “amazing contemporary evolution story
that’s happening right underneath our nose” to the Economist.
Dr.
Kays estimates that there are millions of coywolves populating eastern
North America, spreading southward from their original home in southern
Ontario.
Ecologist and evolutionary biologist Javier Monzon,
previously at Stony Brook University in New York, now at Pepperdine
University in California, analyzed 437 coywolves’ DNA and found the
genes to be about 65 percent wolf, 25 percent coyote and 10 percent dog.
The
physical traits are impressive. Coywolves weigh twice that of a coyote,
around 55lbs (25kg) or more. They’re able to, on their own, hunt deer,
or among fellow travelers capture a moose, thanks to their enlarged
jaws, increased muscle, and quickening legs.
What’s spookier is their
howl, or yip, since the sound is reminiscent of both wolves and coyotes.
A YouTube video captures the nighttime call at 45 seconds in:
Beyond the physical, their ability to adapt environmentally is also
expanded. Coyotes favor open spaces, but wolves do better with forestry.
Coywolves? They love both.
In the last decade, they’ve even sprung
up in cities like Boston, Washington, DC, and New York City. The Gotham
Coyote Project counts 20 of the hybrids in New York.
City-dwelling
isn’t so much of a challenge for the coywolves. They’ve been observed
looking both ways before crossing the street. They eat garden produce
and scraps as well as rodents or pets.
Evolution has shown them a world
of flavors, and they aren’t picky. Lawns and parks make for great
hunting grounds, especially at night, which is when most choose to come
out. If a coywolf spots an appetizing cat, no part of it will go
undigested.
Controversy over how to classify the coywolf is bound to grow.
Jonathan Way, founder of Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research and author of
Suburban Howls, will claim the hybrids are so unique that they are their
own species.
The definition of “species” isn’t exactly clear.
Some scientists say a species is defined by its inability to reproduce
with other species, and since coywolves still mate with coyotes and
wolves, that would seem to disqualify them.
However, that brings up the
question of whether coyotes and wolves are their own species themselves,
since they certainly are the genetic parents of coywolves.
November 1, 2015 – KnowTheLies
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