Re: Line breeding vs hybridization

Hi Jason,

In response to the thread copied below. The original posting was not correct. 
Coyotes and our two North American wolf species are still distinct species. 
Your questions are pretty accurate. As the biologists began to try to save 
the Red Wolf (Canis niger), the initial efforts were set back when the first 
captive stock was found to be hybrids with coyotes. Happily undiluted 
blood-lines were found and I think the Red Wolf's future is currently secure 
in captivity at least.

"Canis familiaris" was never a good species entity. Linnaeus named it from 
the domestic dog - not from a wild population.

    Jim Langhammer

In a message dated 06/23/2001 1:48:39 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
StellrJ@aol.com writes:

<< In a message dated Thu, 21 Jun 2001  4:12:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
Piabinha@aol.com writes:
 
 << in the u.s. lately, more and more scientists see that not only there's no 
distinct species as Canis familiaris, but that coyotes and wolves are also 
the same species.
 
 Really?  This sounds to me like an excuse not to conserve the wolf, since, 
after all, the coyote now lives where the wolf once did -- and never mind 
that true wolves kill off and tend to extirpate coyotes.  Those cattle guys 
outside Yellowstone will love that.  And, since some were already alleging 
that the red wolf was a just a wolf-coyote hybrid anyway, well, there's 
another species we no longer have to conserve.  What will the anti-wolf folks 
come up with next?
 
 Jason Hernandez
 Naturalist-at-Large >>
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