Meet the Coywolf

[Catherine]

I will give you a hint, it is not a shy wolf. It is a cross between an Eastern Wolf and a Western Coyote. I only just heard about them. It seems that we are seeing a new species emerging.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2009/08/...ywolf.html


http://www.coywolf.org/coywolf-basic-info/

Sadly they are hanging around the cities and eating people's pets.
http://www.citynews.ca/2014/11/06/exclus...ssissauga/

Video footage of the Coywolves.




It seems the pressures of humans on the environment have actually been instrumental in the existence of Coywolves.

[Tobi]

What a beautiful creature.
Unfortunately humans have taken up more and more wilderness territories, so these and other predatory species have little option but to scavenge and hunt in urban or semi-urban places. Cats especially, would be prey, and even dogs, as the Coywolf will see them either (if small) -as prey, or if larger -as intruders on 'their patch'. The answer might be to re-locate these creatures to a different zone....maybe a national park? I don't know.

[Catherine]

I don't think they have any idea how many Coywolves there are. The fact that they are in New York and Toronto means they have a wide range and are well established. I think they are more of a semi-urban wild animal. Also they have been around for longer than we realize. They are not just a few wolf coyote crosses. They have been breeding as a separate species for enough generations to actually be considered a species.

People will have to be more careful with their dogs and cats. The Coywolves seem to consider the urban areas their territory. Maybe they will be like our city squirrels and racoons. They have adapted to sharing space with us. We have had to adapt to sharing space with them. If you leave an unscreened window open you will wake up to ha house full of racoons helping themselves to your food. They can open jars, but so far cans defeat them.

Who knows what ways the Coywolves will adapt.

[Catherine]

It seems they are really watching the Coywolf situation. I like the idea of a school program to teach children how to deal with the animals. I am sure if people know what to do and what to avoid they can learn to live with the Coywolves safely.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/11/...rried.html

We should at least be able to protect pets from harm, without harming the Coywolves. There is room for all of us in this country.