Monday, November 02, 2015

Necessity is the Mother of Species

Coywolf (pbs.org)
The destruction of their respective habitats has brought about the marriage of wolves and coyotes. Add a smidgeon of dog DNA, and voila! the coywolf, a new species that is not only surviving but thriving. [bold added]
The DNA from both wolves and dogs (the latter mostly large breeds, like Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds), brings big advantages...With larger jaws, more muscle and faster legs, individual coywolves can take down small deer. A pack of them can even kill a moose.

Coyotes dislike hunting in forests. Wolves prefer it. Interbreeding has produced an animal skilled at catching prey in both open terrain and densely wooded areas [snip]

coywolves are now living even in large cities, like Boston, Washington and New York...Coywolves eat pumpkins, watermelons and other garden produce, as well as discarded food. They also eat rodents and other smallish mammals...As well as having small territories, coywolves have adjusted to city life by becoming nocturnal. They have also learned the Highway Code, looking both ways before they cross a road.
Like the cockroach and the rat, wolves and coyotes through the incarnation of the coywolf have adapted to the reality of homo sapiens' planetary dominance. Necessity is the mother of invention...of species.

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