when I visited Fort Worth in January 2004, I was shocked to find a melanistic coyote in Texas Wild. I had never heard of coyotes being black. I did an internet search when I got home, but didn't really find any information. A keeper I talked to there didn't seem to know much either. Surprisingly, the zoo did not advertise this at all. They didn't even have a special sign at the exhibit, just a generic "coyote" sign. I can't believe they didn't market this - almost certainly the only melanistic coyote in captivity.
If anyone has any information or links about melanism in coyotes, I would love to hear it.
