In this episode I dive into some research papers on genetics of coyotes, wolves, and dogs, looking to answer the question that comes up at least once a year about coydogs. In doing so I also run across an interesting paper that may explain what causes the melanistic, or black coyote. Black coyotes are not common, but they aren't necessarily uncommon either. Trappers catch them on occasion and hunters usually have pictures of black coyotes on their trail cameras. See the links to articles below.

If you're interested in getting started trapping be sure to check out my Trapper's Academy program. www.coyotetrappingschool.com/trappersacademy/ As a member you get access to hours of instructional trapping videos as well as forums and monthly Q&A calls to help answer questions you may have.

For researching, Google Scholar - https://scholar.google.com/ - is a valuable tool for finding peer reviewed research papers.

Genetic Characterization of Eastern "Coyotes" in Eastern Massachussetts – Abstract only https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Genetic-Characterization-of-Eastern-%E2%80%9CCoyotes%E2%80%9D-in-Way-Rutledge/ef4114834b96137ed7c407b61300382578565e63

Using faecal DNA sampling and GIS to monitor hybridization between red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) https://redwolves.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/2-Adams-et-al.-2003.pdf Widespread occurrence of a domestic dog mitochondrial DNA haplotype in southeastern US coyotes http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.711.1321&rep=rep1&type=pdf Molecular and Evolutionary History of Melanism in North American Gray Wolves https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2903542/ Be sure to follow on social Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pg/Coyote-Trapping-School-737119119640782/about/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/coyote_trapping_school/