[xzins]

The one I saw walking through my back yard last week was as large as my yearling Ridgeback, but it was in its winter fur, so it appeared larger.

A recent article about the eastern coyote says:

Wolves in the eastern United States are hybrids of gray wolves and coyotes, while the region's coyotes actually are wolf-coyote-dog hybrids, according to a new genetic study that is adding fuel to a longstanding debate over the origins of two endangered species.

I was a bit surprised at the size of the one I saw last week. We do have black bear in the region that were released by wildlife folks about a decade ago, but I've not seen one, although some church members a few miles to the east of us into the hills have.

Varmints require firepower!

[P-Marlowe]

Varmints require firepower!

I've heard stories of people cutting down trees with an M16 on full auto. Any truth to that rumor?

[P-Marlowe]

The one I saw walking through my back yard last week was as large as my yearling Ridgeback, but it was in its winter fur, so it appeared larger.

The ones in my neighborhood are so skinny they could fit through the bars on my wrought iron fence. But I don't think they'd try because they'd have to deal with my 25 pound/24 claw cat (who we nicknamed "Killer" - although his penchant for dragging the corpses of his victims through the cat door has pretty much faded off as he has aged. I always expected that someday he'd drag a coyote through the door, but so far the biggest animal he has disemboweled on my living room floor has been a jackrabbit).