Why are Western coyotes bigger?

[FinsnFur]

This guy says it was from wolf DNA being introduced into our Eastern coyotes.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/sports/10369322-95/hunters-corner-setting-your-sights-on-coyotes

[nastygunz]

Theres yotes in nh?

[JohnP]

Jim I think they (he) is talking about the eastern coyote, not western.  I do know for a fact that the eastern coyote is considerably larger than what we have out here.  Most of ours are in the 25+/- pound range.  There is a big hunt in PA that always have coyotes brought in the weigh in the mid to upper 40's.  The recent TV documentary on the coywolf has pretty good evidence that the wolf DNA has been introduced into the eastern coyote.  As far as our western coyotes I don't think any wolf DNA has been entered.  I have killed maybe one or two coyotes out here and none have any wolf looks.  Biggest I have ever killed was in the mid 30's if I remember correctly, which anymore I don't.   

[FinsnFur]

Yep that was a typo on my part John

[snafu]

I've killed a few large ones here in my state. One was a 50lb'er. It had a thin dark blue line around it's face. I've killed many coyotes. I've never seen one hair of blue on any of them in 50yrs of predator hunting. Over two winters, I seen an all yellow & an all red coyote. Yellow as in banana yellow. Red as in apple red. Both of those coyotes. The white color demarcation was high up on the face. Unlike the typical coyote.

Some 30yrs ago as I sat in an ER family room. I picked up a Field & Stream mag that was there. In it was an article on Pennsylvania coyote hybrids. One was tagged, it weighed 75 lbs. Biologists also found it's den with pups inside. If I recall correctly? they believed it was part domestic dog.

[nastygunz]

I see reds n yellers here..did yall see where  the writer said a .22 would work?

[snafu]

I see reds n yellers here..did yall see where  the writer said a .22 would work?

I'm talking about a solid color. Not a color blend of red or yellow.

[eleaf]

My guess is that it wouldn't have much to do with any type of cross breeding. Coyotes haven't been in the east long enough in sizable populations to have widespread breeding with wolves affect their size on a large scale. It's likely to do with habitat.

The winters are generally much less harsh, they have less competition is that we don't have large cats (mountain lions) or wolves to deal with (except in very small pockets to the far north) and the food supply is much larger because our land is more productive than western land. It's the same reason why our largest elk in KY, despite being from western stock, are about 15% larger than the largest elk out west.  The winters don't take as large a toll here, elk here have no natural predators (with the exception of coyotes for calves), and the food supply is much richer and more abundant.

[KySongDog]

You guessed wrong.  Looks like you need to work on your google-foo. 

http://forum.finsandfur.net/index.php?topic=17887.0