Welcoming the CoyWolf: Whoever It May Be

Wildlife Camera: Eastern Coyote or CoyWolf (Credit: John Davis)

By now, most of us who spend much time outside in the Adirondack Park have seen some sort of large canid that looks too big to be a Coyote, not quite big enough to be a Wolf. Quite likely, many of us have seen what some wildlife observers are calling the CoyWolf.

What is a CoyWolf?

Coyote by Larry Master (www.masterimages.org)

The CoyWolf is a skilled predator combining the wily nature of the Coyote with a healthy mixture of Eastern Wolf (resulting in more heft and power) and perhaps also a small amount of our beloved domestic dog (resulting in more nerve around humans). Recent genetic testing suggests that these hybrid canids are probably on average something like two-thirds Coyote, nearly one-third Wolf, and a small fraction domestic dog.

CoyWolf, the Back Story

How the CoyWolf emerged is a long, fascinating, and somewhat mysterious story. To greatly oversimplify, eastern North America originally had two or three Wolf species, at least one of which (now known as Red Wolf and surviving in tiny, imperiled numbers in coastal North Carolina) was closely related genetically to the Coyote. When European settlers eradicated our large Wolf species, they left a void that Coyotes moved in from the west to fill.

As Coyotes colonized eastern North America, they occasionally interbred with remnant Wolf populations in eastern Canada, and then moved south into the northeastern US. Coyotes in the US Southeast apparently came by a more southerly route (and were released by hunters, some accounts suggest) and did not interbreed with the larger Wolves (but do so now with Red Wolves), so are generally not as big as our northern Coyotes.

I'd guess this one has enough Wolf genes to be called a Coy-Wolf. He (I'm guessing by size) looks quite tall. (Credit: Wildlife Camera, John Davis) — I’d guess this one has enough Wolf genes to be called a Coy-Wolf. He (I’m guessing by size) looks quite tall. (Credit: Wildlife Camera, John Davis)

Click to enlarge.

Opportunity to Embrace Evolution

In my opinion, informed by thousands of miles of rambling Eastern forests and listening to and reading the words of naturalists and biologists, it is time to recognize this charismatic canid. Specifically we should:

welcome the CoyWolf,
consider the CoyWolf a native top predator,
and protect the CoyWolf as an integral part of healthy ecosystems.

The CoyWolf may be partly a consequence of human modifications of natural systems, but its emergence offers glorious evidence that evolution still works, even in our fragmented world. The Coyote and the CoyWolf are important regulators of prey populations which otherwise might grow out of balance with harmful results for natural and human communities. Plus, these big wild dogs are beautiful creatures, worthy of our respect and admiration.

Read the second installment in this series: “Wrong to Kill Coyotes, Wolves and CoyWolves.”

[Special thanks to Lake Placid based nature conservation photographer Larry Master (www.masterimages.org) for permission to feature several of his photographs in this post.]

Note: The content in this blog post was repurposed and a revised version is included in John Davis’s book Split Rock Wildway: Scouting the Adirondack Park’s Most Diverse Wildlife Corridor published by Essex Editions on Nov. 21, 2017. Learn more about the book and where to buy it at essexeditions.com. Watch the book trailer below.

Return Wolves to Increase Public Safety (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Will Cougars Return to the Adirondacks? (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Misplaced Fear of Cougars (and Other Predators) (www.essexonlakechamplain.com)
Greater than the sum of its parts (economist.com)
New Genetic Evidence Confirms Coyote Migration Route to Virginia and Hybridization with Wolves (newsdesk.si.edu)
Coyote-Wolf Hybrids Have Spread Across U.S. East (nationalgeographic.com)

About John Davis

John Davis is a wildways scout, editor, and writer. He lives with his family in Split Rock Wildway, where he care-takes Hemlock Rock Wildlife Sanctuary when not roaming farther afield. He is a volunteer land steward for Eddy Foundation, which has secured and opened to the public about 3,000 acres in the eastern Adirondacks; has been a board member of Champlain Area Trails and other outdoor/wildlife organizations; a co-founder of Wildlands Network; Rewilding Advocate for Adirondack Council; and is the Wildways Scout for The Rewilding Institute. He is the editor of many conservation publications and author of Big, Wild, and Connected: Scouting an Eastern Wildway from Florida to Quebec—about his 7,600-mile traverse of the proposed Eastern Wildway in 2011. His 5,000-mile traverse of the Rocky Mountains from Sonora, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada, is featured in the film Born to Rewild. His second book, Split Rock Wildway: Scouting the Adirondack Park’s Most Diverse Wildlife Corridor is a rambling look at some of the charismatic and enigmatic wildlife thriving in the wooded hills and adjacent waterways linking Lake Champlain with the High Peaks.

Comments

Jolene Bruso says

October 12, 2025 at 12:12 pm

Your books sound very interesting this is the first I’ve heard of them and can’t wait to read them as I am a lover of animals with the wolf being my ultimate favorite. I live in the Adirondacks with more n more people catching pictures of what u n I call the coy wolf but DEC n quite a lot of people are in denial of. I myself have seen with my own eyes one it was crossing the road one night I won’t say where but as I came around the corner this big absolutely beautiful animal was in my lane, I’ll leave it at that. I would love to tell u the rest n hear your thoughts my email is below

- John Davis says
  
  October 15, 2025 at 12:19 pm
  
  Thanks much for your good thoughts on “Welcoming the CoyWolf: Whoever It May Be”, Jolene. Since drafting that blog a few years ago, I’ve rejoined the staff of Adirondack Council. We are working to convince DEC to be more friendly in its management toward large carnivores. Unfortunately, New York has very few restrictions on the killing of Coyotes; so the likelihood of full-blooded Wolves recolonizing and surviving for long in New York is slim. I’d urge you to let DEC know of your concerns for our wild neighbors.