Mixing and Matching: The Complex Picture of Wild Canid Evolution
Some of the wild canids roaming Northeastern forests. (Courtesy of the Maine Wolf Coalition.)
This post is the second in a series on scientific and public policy issues related to carnivore protection and recovery in the Northeastern United States. Read part one here.
Dog guardians hotly debate whether mutts or purebreds are healthier and if breed determines behavior. As with any question for which science can provide answers, it’s complicated. It can be even more challenging to figure out the differences between wild canids and how those distinctions play out in the natural world. Yet such understanding is directly tied to the animals’ survival in an ever-changing world.
As recently posted in Rewilding Earth, it can be very difficult to distinguish between wolves and coyotes based on sight alone. This is just one outcome of what a growing body of science shows: that the animals have been encountering and mixing with each other for many thousands of years. At the same time, advances in genetic research are revealing more details about the separate and connected evolution of wild canids.
For example, a comprehensive 2014 study demonstrated that eastern coyotes carry a large proportion of wolf DNA. A 2019 review of current science and a 2018 study concluded that the eastern wolf is a distinct species, but one that has long experienced variation and genetic exchange with other wild canids. A 2016 study determined that although eastern and red wolves are currently classified as distinct species, they appear to be admixtures of gray wolves and coyotes. In 2019, the nation’s leading scientific body concluded that although admixing had likely occurred historically, red wolves should still be classified as a distinct species. Most recently, a 2023 study identified both distinct lineages and mixing events across wild canids that occurred tens of thousands of years ago.
In addition to revealing fascinating facts about canid history, emerging science is also challenging long-held assumptions about the ecological role of different animals. While coyotes have long been known to consume smaller prey (like rodents and rabbits), they are clearly capable of hunting larger animals—and their ancestry seems to be a key factor.
One of the wild canids roaming Northeastern forests. (Courtesy of the Maine Wolf Coalition.)
Researchers have documented that while eastern wolves in Ontario prey on deer more than coyotes do, this trend varies depending on the genetic make-up of canid packs. A recent review of dozens of studies concluded that larger coyotes tend to prey on larger animals and rely more on forested habitat than smaller ones. Similarly, researchers have shown that parts of Pennsylvania with a high density of deer are also home to large coyotes with greater percentages of wolf ancestry.
Such science dovetails with field observations and remarkable trail cam footage in Northeastern forests, which demonstrate that the region’s wild canids come in a great variety of sizes and colors—including some that are very “wolfy.”
Yet the public and regulators draw a hardline distinction between wolves and coyotes based on outdated beliefs and prejudices. Because coyotes (or “coy-dogs”) are often viewed as “vermin” and assumed to exist in large numbers, states continue to allow these unique animals to be killed 24/7 nearly all year round. At the same time, agencies continue to deny the possibility that wolves are present. But it’s increasingly apparent that reality is not so clear cut—underscoring the need for change in both attitudes and policies for the sake of coyotes, wolves, and everything in between.
Even in the midst of such complexity, one thing is undeniable: wild canids have been remarkably resilient over the course of time. Their ability to wander far and wide in search of food and mates, to boldly persist in altered environments, and to withstand continual human persecution are all essential reasons why they’ve survived. Whoever they are and whatever we may choose to call them, wild canids will hopefully persist long into the future—and keep shaping a wilder, more resilient world.
Read part three of this series next: Wild Pairings: The Pitfalls and Promises of Hybridization.
Nadia Steinzor is an environmental consultant with 25 years of experience in policy analysis, research, writing, and communications. She has developed and managed projects to investigate the oil and gas industry’s impact on the climate and communities, secure governmental protections for air, water, land, and wildlife, and engage the public in advocacy efforts. Nadia works with the Rewilding Institute to ensure that wolves and other carnivores thrive and roam in the Northeast and beyond. Nadia holds an M.S. in environmental policy from the Bard College Center for Environmental Policy.
