Editing Coyote (section)

===Hybridization===
[[File:Black coyodog.jpg|thumb|Melanistic coyotes owe their color to a mutation that first arose in domestic dogs.<ref name=black/>]]
Coyotes occasionally mate with [[Dog|domestic dog]]s, sometimes producing crosses colloquially known as "[[coydog]]s".<ref name="young121">{{Harvnb|Young|Jackson|1978|pp=121–24}}</ref> Such matings are rare in the wild, as the mating cycles of dogs and coyotes do not coincide, and coyotes are usually antagonistic towards dogs. Hybridization usually only occurs when coyotes are expanding into areas where conspecifics are few, and dogs are the only alternatives. Even then, pup survival rates are lower than normal, as dogs do not form pair bonds with coyotes, thus making the rearing of pups more difficult.<ref name="cartaino61">{{Harvnb|Cartaino|2011|pp=61–3}}</ref> In captivity, [[F1 hybrid|F<sub>1</sub> hybrid]]s (first generation) tend to be more mischievous and less manageable as pups than dogs, and are less trustworthy on maturity than [[Wolfdog|wolf-dog hybrid]]s.<ref name="young121"/> 

Hybrids vary in appearance, but generally retain the coyote's [[#Description|usual characteristics]]. F<sub>1</sub> hybrids tend to be intermediate in form between dogs and coyotes, while F<sub>2</sub> hybrids (second generation) are more varied. Both F<sub>1</sub> and F<sub>2</sub> hybrids resemble their coyote parents in terms of shyness and intrasexual aggression.<ref name="fox105">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|p=105}}</ref><ref name="fox136">{{Harvnb|Fox|1978|p=136}}</ref> Hybrids are fertile and can be successfully bred through four generations.<ref name="young121"/> [[Melanism|Melanistic]] coyotes owe their black pelts to a mutation that first arose in domestic dogs.<ref name="black">{{Cite journal | last1 = Anderson | first1 = T. M. | last2 = Vonholdt | first2 = B. M. | last3 = Candille | first3 = S. I. | last4 = Musiani | first4 = M. | last5 = Greco | first5 = C. | last6 = Stahler | first6 = D. R. | last7 = Smith | first7 = D. W. | last8 = Padhukasahasram | first8 = B. | last9 = Randi | first9 = E. | doi = 10.1126/science.1165448 | last10 = Leonard | first10 = J. A. | last11 = Bustamante | first11 = C. D. | last12 = Ostrander | first12 = E. A. | last13 = Tang | first13 = H. | last14 = Wayne | first14 = R. K. | last15 = Barsh | first15 = G. S. | title = Molecular and Evolutionary History of Melanism in North American Gray Wolves | journal = Science | volume = 323 | issue = 5919 | pages = 1339–1343 | year = 2009 | pmid =  19197024| pmc =2903542 |bibcode = 2009Sci...323.1339A|issn=1095-9203|oclc=34298537}}</ref> A population of non-albino white coyotes in Newfoundland owe their coloration to a [[melanocortin 1 receptor]] mutation inherited from [[Golden Retriever]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Zimmer|first=Carl|url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/21/snow-coyotes-and-spirit-bears/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122152521/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/21/snow-coyotes-and-spirit-bears/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2013|title=Snow Coyotes and Spirit Bears|magazine=National Geographic Magazine|date=January 21, 2013|access-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Westerncoywolf.png|thumb|A [[coywolf]] hybrid conceived in captivity between a male gray wolf and a female coyote]]

Coyotes have hybridized with wolves to varying degrees, particularly in eastern [[North America]]. The so-called "[[eastern coyote]]" of northeastern North America probably originated in the aftermath of the extermination of gray and eastern wolves in the northeast, thus allowing coyotes to colonize former wolf ranges and mix with the remnant wolf populations. This hybrid is smaller than either the gray or eastern wolf, and holds smaller territories, but is in turn larger and holds more extensive home ranges than the typical western coyote. {{as of|2010}}, the eastern coyote's genetic makeup is fairly uniform, with minimal influence from eastern wolves or western coyotes.<ref name="way2010">{{cite journal|doi=10.1656/045.017.0202 |jstor=40664873|author1=Way, J.G. |author2= Rutledge, L. |author3=Wheeldon, T. |author4=B.N. White|year=2010 |url=http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/GeneticsOfEasternCoywolfFinalInPrint.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107171635/http://easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/GeneticsOfEasternCoywolfFinalInPrint.pdf |archive-date=2011-01-07 |url-status=live |title=Genetic characterization of Eastern "Coyotes" in eastern Massachusetts|journal= Northeastern Naturalist |volume= 17|issue=2|pages= 189–204|s2cid=135542|issn=1938-5307|oclc=46381506}}</ref> 

Adult eastern coyotes are larger than western coyotes, with female eastern coyotes weighing 21% more than male western coyotes.<ref name="way2010"/><ref name="way2007">{{cite journal|doi=10.1656/1092-6194(2007)14[111:ACOBMO]2.0.CO;2 |author=Way, J. G. |year=2007|url=http://easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/BodyMassWay.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006084632/http://easterncoyoteresearch.com/downloads/BodyMassWay.PDF |archive-date=2008-10-06 |url-status=live |title=A comparison of body mass of ''Canis latrans'' (Coyotes) between eastern and western North America|journal=Northeastern Naturalist|volume= 14|issue=1|pages= 111–24|jstor=4499900|s2cid=85288738 |issn=1938-5307|oclc=46381506}}</ref> Physical differences become more apparent by the age of 35 days, with eastern coyote pups having longer legs than their western counterparts. Differences in dental development also occurs, with [[tooth eruption]] being later, and in a different order in the eastern coyote.<ref name="bekoff1978"/> Aside from its size, the eastern coyote is physically similar to the western coyote. The four color phases range from dark brown to blond or reddish blond, though the most common phase is gray-brown, with reddish legs, ears, and flanks.<ref name="hilton1978">{{cite book|last=Hilton|first=Henry|year=1978|chapter=Systematics and Ecology of the Eastern Coyote|pages=210–28|editor1-first=M. |editor1-last=Bekoff|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management |publisher=Academic Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref> 

No significant differences exist between eastern and western coyotes in aggression and fighting, though eastern coyotes tend to fight less, and are more playful. Unlike western coyote pups, in which fighting precedes play behavior, fighting among eastern coyote pups occurs after the onset of play.<ref name="bekoff1978">{{cite book|last=Bekoff|first=M. |year=1978 |chapter=Behavioral Development in Coyotes and Eastern Coyotes|pages=97–127|title=Coyotes: Biology, Behavior, and Management|publisher=Academic Press|location=New York|isbn=978-1-930665-42-2|oclc=52626838}}</ref> Eastern coyotes tend to reach [[sexual maturity]] at two years of age, much later than in western coyotes.<ref name="way2010"/>

Eastern and red wolves are also products of varying degrees of wolf-coyote hybridization. The eastern wolf probably was a result of a wolf-coyote admixture, combined with extensive [[backcrossing]] with parent gray wolf populations. The red wolf may have originated during a time of declining wolf populations in the [[Southeastern Woodlands]], forcing a wolf-coyote hybridization, as well as backcrossing with local parent coyote populations to the extent that about 75–80% of the modern red wolf's genome is of coyote derivation.<ref name=vonholdt2016/><ref name="genome">{{Cite journal 
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