24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
R
Ron Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
R
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
As I started off St. George Island, I saw two mature eagles swooping in an agitated manner. I cut across the road and managed to get a couple of shots at long distance and crappy light of this guy before he got into the trees. In the cropped picture of the second frame, it appears that he had been nailed by the eagles.

What do you think he is?

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


Capt Ron

Magnolia Bluff, FL..............Where Heaven is a local call!

~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
GB2

Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,776
S
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
S
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,776
Appears to be a regular coyote to me.

Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
C
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
C
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
Ron,
I don't know what it is for sure but you may want to take the photos down to Scipio Creek Marina to the St. Vincent's Island folks. I don't know if you are aware that they have been doing the wolf breeding program for lots of years on St. Vincents. It is not that unimaginable that one could swim over to St. George. It is one of the locations they were breeding red wolves. I think they have said they believed some of them had left the island. That was a couple of years ago that I had that conversation with them and went out to try and photograph them.


Great photography is not about being in the right place at the right time, it is about putting yourself in the right place at the right time.
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,285
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,285
Forget the color, everything else is definitely coyote. No mystery, just a coyote that has been rolling in dark dirt, or some odd color phase, still nothing but a coyote that got shot with a camera instead of a 22-250...


[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
C
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
C
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
Again, I am not saying it is not a coyote, but I pulled out my papers from a trip to the island and there are several red wolves on a part of St. George Island(just over Sikes Cut) that is isolated by about 50 feet of water. My discussions with the folks managing the program have long believed the red wolves were actually a mix between grey wolves and coyotes. The folks down there believe their wolves have bred with coyotes. I am just curious to see what they would say. There really isn't much dark dirt down there, the island is known for it's white sandy beaches, so it would have to be an odd color phase.


Great photography is not about being in the right place at the right time, it is about putting yourself in the right place at the right time.
IC B2

Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,513
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,513
Looks like a coyote to me, although it's unusual to see them in that color.

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,663
Campfire Ranger
Online Content
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 29,663
If it's recent and one could get back and check the tracks, it takes about 4 coyote tracks to fill a single wolf track. Track spacing will also be about twice that of a coyote, and theres about a 25% size difference between front and rear wolf tracks.


1Minute
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
R
Ron Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
R
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
Yes, I'm well aware of the the St. Vincent breeding program and plan on going by the refuge center, when they open this morning. I think it's a coyote,but it's neck and shoulders look a lot thicker than the others I've seen around here. Ours are normally not that stout. And dark soil is not in the equation, as the sand you see it on is the prevalent soil on the island.


Capt Ron

Magnolia Bluff, FL..............Where Heaven is a local call!

~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 14,104
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 14,104
I have never seen a southeastern coyote, but the pelage looks nothing like any coyote that I have seen (and I have seen a lot of them). I would say coydog. The ears and nose are wrong for a red wolf, although red wolves can vary quite a bit in physiognomy and coloration.

I am not current on the latest in red wolf genetics. However, the last time I read up on them it was hypothesized that they were a hybrid swarm with genetics from coyotes, domestic dogs and gray wolves. This makes me wonder what unique genetic information it is that we are saving with the captive breeding effort.


Ben

Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
C
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
C
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
Mudhen, that is sort of my thought here too. I have seen many of the photos of the wolves down here and they have had several dark ones before. The coyotes on the gulf coast tend to be very small and scrawny. The area they are doing the program was at one time a privately owned hunting preserve with exotics. They felt the wolves would cull the deer herds and boars on the island. I am just very curious.


Great photography is not about being in the right place at the right time, it is about putting yourself in the right place at the right time.
IC B3

Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
R
Ron Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
R
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
Tom Lewis, who was the biologist over the wolf program, was killed in a plane crash last year. Because of that I didn't have a contact at SVI. I went by the office on Scipio Creek and got the name of the bio-tech that is still on the program, and I've sent him the pictures.I'll post his thoughts.


Capt Ron

Magnolia Bluff, FL..............Where Heaven is a local call!

~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
R
Ron Offline OP
Campfire Regular
OP Offline
Campfire Regular
R
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 796
Heard from the biologist at St Vincent and 2 from the ANERR and all agree that it's a coyote. As I said before the reason I questioned it's lineage was the bulk of it's front in...I guess sea food & cats suits it well!


Capt Ron

Magnolia Bluff, FL..............Where Heaven is a local call!

~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,145
G
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
G
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,145
My money's on a coydog

Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,749
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,749
It's a Target..........dj


Remember this is all supposed to be for fun.......................
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
C
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
C
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 961
Thanks Ron for getting the information. Cool pics too. I had not heard about the plane crash, I am sorry to hear it.


Great photography is not about being in the right place at the right time, it is about putting yourself in the right place at the right time.
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,638
G
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
G
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 15,638
Looks like a black coyote to me...


- Greg

Success is found at the intersection of planning, hard work, and stubbornness.
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,445
FVA Offline
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,445
Coy dogs are more less not.
I have seen coyotes with that coat color. Such phases remind me of a Akita.


Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,474
L
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
L
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 5,474
Confirmation appears to be a coyote.

One would have thought it would have left before being roughed up like that! At least it appears the fur it's ruffled on it's back


Some spelling errors can be corrected by a vowel movement.
~ MOLON LABE ~
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 258
J
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
J
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 258
My guess would be a melanistic coyote. One was killed down here in Texas a few years ago. Melanism is pretty well documented in many mammals (Black Jaguars AKA Black Panthers) although, you don't hear too many coyotes having it which would make it a very cool find. Another pigment issue is Leucism which is almost the opposite of melanism (complete opposite would be albino) I've seen several times in the wild. I shot these photos of a leucistic Red Tailed Hawk last year:
[Linked Image]
Full Size: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/5247777744_cc08816530_o.jpg
and
[Linked Image]
Full Size: http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4126/5396258581_f30cefd28a_b.jpg
If it is a Melanistic coyote, I'm betting the local F&G would be interested in the find; it's pretty dang cool.
JP

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 8,640
jpb Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Offline
Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 8,640
Jason,

Love the flying hawk! It is now my current screensaver! smile

Very nice sharp picture too.

John

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
718 members (117LBS, 10gaugemag, 12344mag, 01Foreman400, 10Glocks, 78 invisible), 2,678 guests, and 1,308 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,686
Posts18,399,755
Members73,820
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.122s Queries: 15 (0.004s) Memory: 0.8949 MB (Peak: 1.0511 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 22:23:08 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS