Coyote extrodinare!

[35 Whelen]

Joe Fleming, of Spillars Cove, Newfoundland, shot an 82-pound canine last week in the Canadian province. Wildlife officials initially believed it was a coyote, but DNA testing is being conducted on the animal to determine exactly what it is. Wolves were believed to be extermited from the Island in 1929 and there has never been a confirmed sighting or kill since that time??????

 

[DrMike]

Yeah, that would be a fair sized yodel dog. It will be interesting to see what DNA testing demonstrates.

 

[35 Whelen]

I have seen them here close to that size Mike, but the features just were not as pronounced as this animal; This animal has too short of ears; and the bridge of its nose is toooooooooo wide; so I am going to be shocked if they wind up calling it a coyote; as having seen hundreds of them; flying in Alaska; that thing just looks toooooooooo wolfie for me.

 

[6mm Remington]

Not being an expert by any means, it does look like a wolf to me. I too am curious to see the final outcome.
David

 

[SJB358]

Wow, looks wolfy to me too Earle! Good shot though!

 

[35 Whelen]

Here is a little more on from the article:
Speculation is running wild on the Internet about what the animal could be since the canine weighs more than twice as much as a normal coyote and looks similar to a wolf, yet it was shot on an island thought to be void of wolves since the 1930s. Opinions vary from it being a coyote, a wolf, a coyote-wolf hybrid or a coyote-dog hybrid.

Hair and blood samples have been taken and testing at the Memorial University of Newfoundland will help determine what species the animal is or if it is a hybrid, according to The Telegram. Steve Carr, of the biology department at MUN, told The Telegram the animal could be a mix of a wolf and a coyote or a mix between a coyote and a husky.

Fleming found tracks of the animal that indicated it was traveling with a much smaller coyote. He decided to hunt the animal using an electronic caller in the area he found the tracks.

“I turned on a male challenge call, which means there’s another male trying to take over his area or his female coyotes, and I’d say within three minutes he was coming in,”

 

[widgeon]

Cool animal. I'm going with the hybrid theory.

Probably make a very nice skin in any case.

 

[JD338]

It looks more like a wolf to me. Maybe a cross breed between a wolf and a domestic dog ie: Husky.
Big dog any way you look at it.


JD338

 

[C.Smith]

Maybe the government had transplanted some there and not told anyone like in my state (disclaimer: at least that's what I believe :grin: ).

Corey

 

[gerry]

This is making the rounds on all the sites I check out, that is a wolf no doubt. Interesting thought about a hybrid though.

 

[bbearhntr]

If that qualifies as a coyote I am going to do a LOT more "coyote" hunting in WI this year!

 

[AzDak42]

Looks a hell of a lot more like the wolf/dog hybrids that some people keep as pets than it does a coyote.

I have to wonder if this wasn't a wolf/dog hybrid that was turned loose and bred with a coyote.

http://www.google.com/search?q=wolf...ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1262&bih=446

 

[sask boy]

Has anyone heard anything yet on the test results?

Blessings,
Dan

 

[FOTIS]

Let us know! WOW