Eastern Timberwolf?

[Sundowner]

I had a k-9 pass in front of the car not too long ago and slowed down to look at it in the corner of a neighbor's yard, thought it was a coyote at first but it was probably a few inches short of my hip and brindle in color, frigan huge. Talking to my cousin, she said she was watching a National Geographic episode that was about coyotes in Narragansett, because of the concentration. Apparently some were found to have some Eastern Timberwolf in them. If this was one of them, the wolf part was certainly dominate. Anyone else see this episode?

[Raven]

i used to have to control the rabbits from over populating
and eating away at a fruit orchard just trying to get established
and the coyotes figured out rather quickly.....
hey! all we have to do is follow this guy around
and he'll provide dinner

well, i knew they were doing it
because to catch just a glimpse of one i'd have to whip my
body around extra fast to see them....and it was really tough

yet minutes after i'd leave a rabbit even though sometimes i'd watch it

it would vanish as if it de materialized off the planet
they are that fast and that smart....so you combine that with wolf
power..... and you have one hell of a predator....
that can steal a baby like NUTHIN

[Joe]

They have a trick where a female in heat will walk through a neighborhood to try and attract a domestic dog into following her into a woodlot, then the pack will descend upon him.
The last thing the dog says is, "B_tch set me up!"

[striperman36]

I've seen coyotes in my neighborhood that large. I have a 90 Lb sheperd and this one was as big as him

[Raven]

i encourage predatory help because foxes are the best mousers...
i once saw red squirrels feeding on a embankment
so i threw sunflower seeds on it to
draw them in to the perfect ambush spot for our red fox.

sure enough he comes trotting by and hears the rustling in the leaves
and leaps over the edge of the hill with tail straight out
pouncing on the varmint and then i heard a loud squeak and silence.

[JohnnyD]

I've been hearing more and more about coywolves in the eastern Mass and Cape Cod area lately, a coyote/wolf hybrid.

[Raven]

not much difference than a polar bear mating with a grizzly bear

it happens

[Sundowner]

Polar bear and a Grizzly, what a machine. Imagine a Polar and Kodiak, worse turned worst.

[fishrick]

These easter coyotes have a bit of red wolf blood in them, but a cross breed would not be fertile. Have seen the Narragansett ones, they are coyotes, but I have personally weighed a 70 lb one in Vermont, and shot a 52lb one in NY. both "brindle" in color. There here to stay. Much larger than western version, but have seen Timber wolves in Saskatchewan and Alberta....totally different, and some up to 125lbs....not the same class....

[Sundowner]

I've seen dozens and dozens of coyotes in Narragansett, but this one was nothing at all like any of them. I had a 100 lb Akita and this was taller and very slightly less stocky

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by fishrick

These easter coyotes have a bit of red wolf blood in them, but a cross breed would not be fertile. Have seen the Narragansett ones, they are coyotes, but I have personally weighed a 70 lb one in Vermont, and shot a 52lb one in NY. both "brindle" in color. There here to stay. Much larger than western version, but have seen Timber wolves in Saskatchewan and Alberta....totally different, and some up to 125lbs....not the same class....

They shot a verified Eastern Timber Wolf near here a few years ago. A farmer shot it while it was chasing his livestock.

[Pete_G]

I've seen some unusually large individuals around Aquidneck Island as well.

Maybe not as big as what you saw but clearly bigger then your traditional, original mid-West mouse stalking coyote.

The coyotes here have had DNA testing. Wolf, domestic dog, and coyote blend. Pretty much standard at this point, a "pure" coyote is rare both on Aquidneck Island and most of the Eastern part of the country.

I've never read that they couldn't reproduce, in fact just the opposite. They've been hybridized for some time, in some regions more then others and are reproducing just fine. Some populations are considered hybrids of hybrids.

It helps explain the deer carcasses around here people occasionally find, blood and bones everywhere. Bigger animals behaving more like wolves, hunting in a pack for example. Coyotes are generally considered more solitary.

I've also read it's considered to be a very fast display of evolution. "Coywolves" filling the niche of wolves we eradicated over time. Something might as well be hunting bigger animals (deer) since they really have no natural predator in many areas.