Scientists Tested 192 Pennsylvania Coyotes — And Their DNA Changed What We Know About Them
Wilder America
4,912 views
Pennsylvania’s coyotes aren’t quite the animals most people think they are.
When scientists tested 192 coyotes across the state, they found that the biggest animals—especially in the northern forests—also carried the most wolf ancestry. Females even showed more wolf DNA than males.
But newer research has complicated the story.
This video traces how eastern coyotes spread into Pennsylvania, picked up wolf genes in Canada, and became larger, stronger predators capable of exploiting abundant deer. It also explores why scientists now think human development, geography, hunting pressure, and separate migration routes may be shaping these animals just as much as natural selection.
The result isn’t a returning wolf or a simple “coywolf.”
It’s a changing predator still being assembled in real time.
5 Comments
I've shot 2 one that bred from a farm German shepherd within 500 yards of where I got it,and another red and fully dog except it's Grey coyote tail.
I shot 2 more in Alberta,the west!
These both weighed over 55lbs.They were 300miles from standard gray wolf areas.
I took one other in NewMexico that weighed well over 50lbs.close to a major city area.
So go figure,dogs are involved all over too,not gray wolves.
Scientists Tested 192 Pennsylvania Coyotes — And Their DNA Changed What We Know About Them
Wilder America
4,912 views
Pennsylvania’s coyotes aren’t quite the animals most people think they are.
When scientists tested 192 coyotes across the state, they found that the biggest animals—especially in the northern forests—also carried the most wolf ancestry. Females even showed more wolf DNA than males.
But newer research has complicated the story.
This video traces how eastern coyotes spread into Pennsylvania, picked up wolf genes in Canada, and became larger, stronger predators capable of exploiting abundant deer. It also explores why scientists now think human development, geography, hunting pressure, and separate migration routes may be shaping these animals just as much as natural selection.
The result isn’t a returning wolf or a simple “coywolf.”
It’s a changing predator still being assembled in real time.