Potoooooooo
Contributor
https://retrieverman.net/2019/12/23...rbreeding-with-dogs-and-eyeing-south-america/
The coyote has spread to almost the entirety of the North American continent. They are absent from much of the treeless tundra of the Canadian High Arctic, but they are at home in Alaska and Labrador. They range all through the United States and through all of Mexico. They live in every Central American nation and are working their way through Panama.
A recent survey of coyotes and crab-eating foxes in Panama revealed that two species now have an overlapping range. The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) is widespread in northern South America, but only recently did a few of them wander into Panama. This survey used a combination of camera trap and road-kill data to get an idea of where both canids live in the country.
Deforestation in Panama has opened up new territory for both species, which do much better in human-dominated environments. Coyotes now are at the edge of the great forests of Darien. Beyond those forests lies Colombia– and a whole new continent.
Further, coyotes could possibly enter Colombia through a coastal approach, simply crossing onto the beaches of eastern Panama and walking down the coast.
Also, the researchers are noticing that some coyotes have dog-like features, which suggests they are interbreeding with village dogs. The dogs could confer onto the coyotes some advantageous genes that might make colonization of South America easier.
The coyote has spread to almost the entirety of the North American continent. They are absent from much of the treeless tundra of the Canadian High Arctic, but they are at home in Alaska and Labrador. They range all through the United States and through all of Mexico. They live in every Central American nation and are working their way through Panama.
A recent survey of coyotes and crab-eating foxes in Panama revealed that two species now have an overlapping range. The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) is widespread in northern South America, but only recently did a few of them wander into Panama. This survey used a combination of camera trap and road-kill data to get an idea of where both canids live in the country.
Deforestation in Panama has opened up new territory for both species, which do much better in human-dominated environments. Coyotes now are at the edge of the great forests of Darien. Beyond those forests lies Colombia– and a whole new continent.
Further, coyotes could possibly enter Colombia through a coastal approach, simply crossing onto the beaches of eastern Panama and walking down the coast.
Also, the researchers are noticing that some coyotes have dog-like features, which suggests they are interbreeding with village dogs. The dogs could confer onto the coyotes some advantageous genes that might make colonization of South America easier.
