Coyotes On The Attack?

B

Blackduiker

Well-Known Member
As we encroach more and more upon the outskirts of wilderness areas, run ins with wildlife is becoming fairly common news. Even my own neighborhood only dates back to 1989; hence coyotes, raccoons, opossums, roadrunners, etc. Or is it the loss of habitat driving wildlife into more desperate measures, seeking urban survival? Was this claim of a "coyote attack" possibly even a hoax, as many commenting below suggest?

AOL.com Video - Man Tells Tale After Being Attacked by 3 Coyotes

Pack of wild coyotes attack Kent man walking his dog | Q13 FOX News

Kent man attacked by coyotes in his own backyard | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News
 
Hi,

Raccoons and coyotes actually seem to do better, in certain respects, in some urban/suburban environments - larger body size, larger litters, etc - that in less developed habitats. Of course they also have more run-ins with people, pets as well...

I've not looked at the video, but coyote attacks on people have been accurately documented numerous times; usually children, but 3-4 years ago an adult was killed in Canada. In the Northeast, all of the coyotes examined show genetic evidence that their ancestors have mated with gray wolves and, in some cases, domestic dogs.

Best, Frank
 
Frank,
Do you have access to any literature showing where the Coyotes and Gray Wolves mated. Everything I've come across indicates against this.
 
Thanks. That makes sense. Those aren't Gray Wolves (C. lupus) they're hybridizing with, but Eastern Wolves (C. lycaon).
 
Hi,

Thanks..the article I sent treats the eastern wolf population as a subspecies, so I went with that; I recall that a journal of mammolgy article proposed the group as a distinct species some time ago, have not followed up on where that stands at present. Best, Frank
 
Yeah, NA canid taxonomy is something I took a deep look into a month or so ago. It is enough to make your brain hurt.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
Yeah, NA canid taxonomy is something I took a deep look into a month or so ago. It is enough to make your brain hurt.
Click to expand...


Indeed! I worked with red wolves many years ago, then all came to a halt due to questions re their background, recently there is interest again. I'm at the Am Museum of Natural History frequently, will see if any contacts there have any input, Best,. Frank
 
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