[AT] Thanksgiving Day/ now coyotes

[Steve W.]

Bob McNitt wrote:
> Just had to chine in with a observation about coyotes. I've hunted them here 
> in upstate NY for decades (using predator calls) and have noticed ours 
> resemble gray wolves more than they do the Western 'yotes.
> 
> I've also hunted gray wolves in Eastern Canada, and that helped me note how 
> much our Northeast 'yotes resembled the true wolves. Well, DNA testing now 
> shows that what we refer to as "Eastern Coyotes" are actually hybrids 
> containing both coyote & gray wolf genes, the result of crossbreeding in 
> Eastern Canada, where the two species' ranges overlap.
> 
> Since the hybrid offspring aren't accepted by the wolf packs, as more were 
> born, they formed their own groups (wolf pack instincts) and each subsequent 
> generation purified itself, evolving into the large wolf-like animal we have 
> now in the Northeast and New England.
> 
> They even exhibit the color phases of wolves, with traditional gray-brown, 
> red, black, and blond specimens. And in winter, they'll hunt in family 
> packs. Ironic how Nature fills a vacuum ... as deer and prey numbers soared, 
> lacking a major predator other than man, a new subspecies of predator 
> surfaces, one that can adapt to our changing manmade environment far better 
> than the wolf, mountain lion, etc.
> 
> And yes, they eat deer, pets and most anything else they can catch/find.
> 

Yep, This area has at least two large packs, probably three. I try to 
sort out a few now and again with the .223.

-- 
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York

Life is not like a box of chocolates
it's more like a jar of jalapenos-
what you do today could burn your ass tomorrow!