flannelfoxen

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Saw this on Reddit, could this be a coydog? https://www.reddit.com/r/animalid/comments/105o3g4/local_residents_page_in_mi_cant_decide_if_this_is/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

I don’t know much about them as I don’t have coyotes in my country but I love learning form your account and seeing the massage variation in them, thank you for posting

So here's the picture of the coyote in question:

And images of the subspecies in that area, Canis latrans thamnos:

The Great Lakes/Northeastern coyotes are one of my favorite subspecies. They have a very unique skull shape and build since they're in this transitional space between the western subspecies and the Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans "var.").

Red coyotes are a very common morph among Eastern coyote subspecies. You see them in almost every Eastern state, and especially within the Northeastern subspecies. Though the theory is that this coloration was introduced into coyote population from dogs, many Northeasterns seem to be this color because it's just beneficial to the environment they live in. I'd need to find the image but there's a trial cam photo of a Northeastern coyote in the woods up there and it blends almost perfectly into the landscape. Coyotes are known for being incredibly adaptable and, as we've seen in Eastern Coyotes, if it's an adaptation they benefit from in a particular area, it spreads realtivly quickly through the populations. I've also wondered if because they look very dog-like from a distance is why you see a lot of them in urban environments (little bit of urban camouflage because the average person would see that color and think they're dogs, so they're left alone and can spread those genes). Here's a group of red Northeastern ones living in downtown Chicago:

There's nothing about the image of that coyote to make me think it's a high content coydog. Read through a lot of the comments on reddit and all these "dog traits" people are looking at are just traits common within that subspecies. I haven't seen a ton of studies done on the Northeastern subspecies but the Eastern Coyotes which are more know for hybridization are still predominantly coyote with admixtures of dog, gray wolf, and eastern wolf within thier lineage. Basically, unless the animal is captured and tested, it's a safer bet to consider it a coyote until proven otherwise.

There was a black coyote that caused a big scene several years ago who was seen actively playing with and befriending dogs. The public was convinced he was a coydog because of his coloration and behavior. He was eventually captured and taken to a conservation center and samples from him were sent to UC Davis. No recent dog lineage was found. He was just a black coyote. His name's Carmine and he's adorable btw

There's also this little lad who was tested and is confirmed to be an F1 coydog. From a distance he would look like a typical coyote, but he's half border collie.

Morphology alone is not the best indicatator for whether or not coyotes have high content of dog or wolf in them, especially if you aren't aware of the differences between the subspecies. Genetic testing is the only way to 100% confirm whether they do or not. Just from that one pic and knowing what area the coyote is from, I definitely think it's a just Northeastern coyote.

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Something so sad but so beautiful whenever I have the privilege to work on these animals

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and when i say "specimens" i don't mean taxidermied mounts made to look lifelike for exhibit, i'm talking about the thousands to millions of specimens lying in drawers and shelves like this:

asking because i didn't know this until i was in high school. reblogs greatly appreciated, i want to reach as far out of science nerd tumblr as possible!

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black-tailed deer commission for sam! dewy and radiant colors

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Some of the taxidermy reptiles at the natural history museum in Bern! Gila monster my beloved

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I've been more busy than I thought lately and made lots of new stuff that I'm proud of! :D Thank you everyone for all your immense support, I wouldn't be able to do this without you!! https://artofmaquenda.etsy.com

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"The Yurok will be the first Tribal nation to co-manage land with the National Park Service under a historic memorandum of understanding signed on Tuesday [March 19, 2024] by the tribe, Redwood national and state parks, and the non-profit Save the Redwoods League, according to news reports.

The Yurok tribe has seen a wave of successes in recent years, successfully campaigning for the removal of a series of dams on the Klamath River, where salmon once ran up to their territory, and with the signing of a new memorandum of understanding, the Yurok are set to reclaim more of what was theirs.

Save the Redwoods League bought a property containing these remarkable trees in 2013, and began working with the tribe to restore it, planting 50,000 native plants in the process. The location was within lands the Yurok once owned but were taken during the Gold Rush period.

Centuries passed, and by the time it was purchased it had been used as a lumber operation for 50 years, and the nearby Prairie Creek where the Yurok once harvested salmon had been buried.

Currently located on the fringe of Redwoods National and State Parks which receive over 1 million visitors every year and is a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site, the property has been renamed ‘O Rew, a Yurok word for the area.

“Today we acknowledge and celebrate the opportunity to return Indigenous guardianship to ‘O Rew and reimagine how millions of visitors from around the world experience the redwoods,” said Sam Hodder, president and CEO of Save the Redwoods League.

Having restored Prarie Creek and filled it with chinook and coho salmon, red-legged frogs, northwestern salamanders, waterfowl, and other species, the tribe has said they will build a traditional village site to showcase their culture, including redwood-plank huts, a sweat house, and a museum to contain many of the tribal artifacts they’ve recovered from museum collections.

Believing the giant trees sacred, they only use fallen trees to build their lodges.

“As the original stewards of this land, we look forward to working together with the Redwood national and state parks to manage it,” said Rosie Clayburn, the tribe’s cultural resources director.

It will add an additional mile of trails to the park system, and connect them with popular redwood groves as well as new interactive exhibits.

“This is a first-of-its-kind arrangement, where Tribal land is co-stewarded with a national park as its gateway to millions of visitors. This action will deepen the relationship between Tribes and the National Park Service,” said Redwoods National Park Superintendent Steve Mietz, adding that it would “heal the land while healing the relationships among all the people who inhabit this magnificent forest.”"

-via Good News Network, March 25, 2024

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Robust Climbing Salamander (Bolitoglossa robusta), family Plethodontidae, Tapanti National Park, Costa Rica

Photograph by Piotr Naskrecki

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[2783/11080] Crested treeswift - Hemiprocne coronata

Order: Apodiformes (swifts and hummingbirds) Family: Hemiprocnidae (treeswifts)

Photo credit: Melvin Jaison via Macaulay Library

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So I was out getting groceries...

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Dancing crane in Hokkaido (photography by Stefan Senft)

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Evil Mother. (2020).

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wild boars are so cool and badass just look at those things. why does nobody seem to take them seriously theyre up there with bears and wolves in terms of being so strong and hairy and awesome. AND theyre omnivores? wow. the talent. the range. we could learn a lot from them I think

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Degu skull for a customer

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Birthday Birdie

Stunning European bird mount I received for my birthday this year. This little fella is from the Netherlands, remember folks most North American birds are protected so if you're searching for bird taxidermy, I highly suggest getting European mounts.

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for someone never meant for this world,

i must confess, i’m having a hard time

leaving it

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Piebald Golden Jackal (Canis aureus) killed in Serbia.

It's possible this animal may be a hybrid with a domestic dog. Hybrids between the two species are well-documented, however a similar-looking piebald jackal culled in Israel was DNA tested and found to contain no trace of domestic dog ancestry, suggesting this colour pattern may also occur naturally in the species.

Photo from Six By Six Hunting