Humans create new predator, the 'coywolf'
A new predator is taking over America's northeast and the 'coywolf,' a hybrid of the coyote and wolf, is said to have been created after wolves were hunted and forced north, while coyotes moved east.
Business Insider reports that the animals have genes made up of 1/4 wolf DNA and 2/3 coyote DNA. The rest is from domesticated dogs.
They were created when wolves and coyote populations merged in the Great Lakes.
The wolf genes allow the coyote to take down bigger prey, while the coyote genes let them adapt to cities.
According to The New York Times, the coywolf "can be as much as 40 per cent larger than the Western coyote, with powerful wolf-like jaws; it has also inherited the wolf's more social nature, which allows for pack hunting."
Scientists have been studying the new breed and made 50/50 hybrids in a laboratory, allowing female coyotes to mate with grey wolves.
The hybrids were better at dealing with tough times. For example, when food is low or their habitat is being destroyed, they adapt.
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