Red Wolf?

[Native Texan]

Interesting article on the subject.

http://blog.wildlifejournalist.com/2018/09/red-wolf-ancestry-discovered-alive-in-texas/

[okrattler]

I'd find it harder to believe if they'd have said it was a coyote. The biggest coyote on record was 75 pounds and it was shot in the 1930's. Coyotes that go 40+ pounds are uncommon. A 60+ pound coyote is a freak of nature. It just doesn't happen all the time. Especially down South. I could see where a coyote up in the Northern States pack on more weight because it gets a lot colder and they have to or they'll die.

Besides that how much land is in Texas? A hell of a lot and there's a good amount of it that's so thick or full of thorns you couldn't find a bedded down Rhinoceros in it. So it's not like a few canines couldn't hide out in that crap for years without anyone knowing it. What else do they have to do out there besides have sex and make more animals just like them? Not much besides eat....and have more sex. It'd only take two....If they're banging eachother,plus coyotes,farm dogs and everything else they can find eventually there's gonna be some red wolfish type animals show up somewhere.

[Bowdark]

Wolf

[Uncle Saggy]

How cool, thanks for sharing. Yes, I believe that is a Red Wolf




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[Snowflake Killa]

I took a picture of this red wolf at the bank the other day.

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[Uncle_Milty]

I'm in the wolf/part wolf camp. I saw one back in the late 90's while bow hunting. When I told my dad about it the description I gave was that it was bigger than a German Sheppard. Definitely think that at a minimum you have some yote/wolf hybrids running around.

[Capt.Brown]

There endangered and protected

[clintb]

Just looks like a regular ol yote to me.

[Aggie PhD]

So I read the original post the guy made yesterday morning. In it they said nothing about the USFWS, DNA sampling or the actual weight of the dog.

There is something going on here especially with it's size. Does this dog have some "Red wolf" alleles? Possibly. Is it 100% red wolf? Doubtful. Given the amount of hybridization that was thought to occur between coyotes and the red wolf, and IF there are remnant populations of said wolf, the likelihood of a pure wolf existing in Texas is about the same amount as Elizabeth Warren being 100% Cherokee.

There are undoubtedly alleles from wolves circulating in the coyote population of Texas. Given that there is also a large amount of phenotypic variation in coyotes. Remember the black coyote that someone on here shot? How many said that was a wolf? There was also some large black canids shot in Mississippi a couple years ago and several people were screaming it was a wolf. Nope just a coyote.

This wreaks of the "Ivory Billed Woodpecker" episode.

And the part about it going to be with it's family made the credibility of the post plummet substantially. If it was so much like a wolf, why did you let it go. I'm pretty sure that USFWS would like to have additional genetic founders to include in their population

[cbd10pt]

I can't tell the difference between the two identified pictures let alone the one in the cage.
Might as well wait on the DNA before you throw anybody under the bus.

[Chad C]

They have them at the Rim if you ever want to check them out. I've photographed them a few times over the years.

https://fossilrim.org/animals/red-wolf/

[BitBackShot]

It's certainly not a garden variety coyote. What it is? No way of knowing until they get the DNA results back.

If I were a betting man, I'd guess it was just a coydog that looks a lot like a red wolf coincidentally, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if its DNA reveals some level of wolf genetics. Certainly looks the part.

[wytex]

Worked for a veterinarian back in the day in Southlake and we worked on a wolf that was a pet. They do not make good pets. Some folks have them as pets today.
Folks in Colorado have been releasing wolves and crosses for years in unofficial attempts to reintroduce them.
Very possible some are still around from back when they did try a release of red wolves.

[BitBackShot]

Worked for a veterinarian back in the day in Southlake and we worked on a wolf that was a pet. They do not make good pets. Some folks have them as pets today.
Folks in Colorado have been releasing wolves and crosses for years in unofficial attempts to reintroduce them.
Very possible some are still around from back when they did try a release of red wolves.

I watched a youtube series done by a lady that owns a wolf dog out in Arizona, and they are indeed horrible pets. The message she was trying to get out was, "Do not get a wolf dog expecting a pet". Their crazy/apex predator/fear of humans will just come exploding out of nowhere and they go ballistic and attack anything and everything around them if they're in the wrong mood or food is present. This lady was very calm and an animal lover and it turned on her and attacked her while she was filming once. She was able to stay calm and talk it down after a minute or so, but she was hurt.

That's not an animal you want to screw with under any circumstances.

[PondPopper]

So I read the original post the guy made yesterday morning. In it they said nothing about the USFWS, DNA sampling or the actual weight of the dog.

There is something going on here especially with it's size. Does this dog have some "Red wolf" alleles? Possibly. Is it 100% red wolf? Doubtful. Given the amount of hybridization that was thought to occur between coyotes and the red wolf, and IF there are remnant populations of said wolf, the likelihood of a pure wolf existing in Texas is about the same amount as Elizabeth Warren being 100% Cherokee.

There are undoubtedly alleles from wolves circulating in the coyote population of Texas. Given that there is also a large amount of phenotypic variation in coyotes. Remember the black coyote that someone on here shot? How many said that was a wolf? There was also some large black canids shot in Mississippi a couple years ago and several people were screaming it was a wolf. Nope just a coyote.

This wreaks of the "Ivory Billed Woodpecker" episode.

And the part about it going to be with it's family made the credibility of the post plummet substantially. If it was so much like a wolf, why did you let it go. I'm pretty sure that USFWS would like to have additional genetic founders to include in their population

You are wrong. Here is the original post.. Don't try so hard..



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