Rise of the "Coywolf"

[Recusant]

I was aware that there had been some mixing between wolves and coyotes, but didn't know that it had progressed as far as is described in the article below.

"Greater than the sum of its parts" | The Economist

The clearance of forests for farming, together with the deliberate persecution which wolves often suffer at the hand of man, had made life tough for the species. That same forest clearance, though, both permitted coyotes to spread from their prairie homeland into areas hitherto exclusively lupine, and brought the dogs that accompanied the farmers into the mix.

Interbreeding between animal species usually leads to offspring less vigorous than either parent—if they survive at all. But the combination of wolf, coyote and dog DNA that resulted from this reproductive necessity generated an exception. The consequence has been booming numbers of an extraordinarily fit new animal (see picture) spreading through the eastern part of North America. Some call this creature the eastern coyote. Others, though, have dubbed it the "coywolf". Whatever name it goes by, Roland Kays of North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, reckons it now numbers in the millions.

[Continues . . .]

[joeactor]

Thank you, Rec...

Interesting. Hadn't even heard about the Coywolf, but the estimated population is pretty big.

Might be seeing more about this, especially if it moves into more human areas.

[Tank]

Can't keep nature down.

[xSilverPhinx]

Very interesting! When I saw the title of this thread at first I thought there was a new "breed" of wolf that was even more timid. 

Excluding dogs, looks like they might have an even better chance than their ancestors at surviving in changing environments - especially urban environments.

One thing though:

One common definition of a species is a population that will not interbreed with outsiders.

This is an incomplete definition. A species is a population that can interbreed with outsiders, if genetically and morphologically close enough, and produce viable but infertile offspring. In other words, there is no genetic mixing between different species spanning more than a generation.
For instance, wolfdogs, commonly seen as hybrids (are they? It's debatable) can produce fertile offspring, so per that definition wolves and dogs are still the same species. 

   

[OldGit]

Over here we are experiencing a rise in the number of Aardelopes (aarvark/antelope crosses) and Antevarks.  These fearsome beasts steal odd socks from washing machines and hide all sorts of household articles where you know damn well you didn't leave them.  They are experts at concealing keys and phones, and will leave the lids off all sorts of containers.  One day I will catch one of them at it.