re: My parents just saw a Red Wolf near Elliot, MS.

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Anatomically, it's a bit trickier when it's just one animal, because you can't necessarily go on size, but the snout is generally longer and narrower on a coyote. The nose pad is also slightly smaller. A coyote in Oklahoma would look and most likely be larger than one in Louisiana. I would think anyone who has gone through a wildlife biology course of work would know Bergmann's Rule.

ETA: Historically, there has been much debate over whether the coyote and red wolf should even be considered seperate species. The amount of crossing that occurred had a lot to do with the decline in the red wolf population. Whether there is a true red wolf left is debatable, and I believe it is generally agreed upon that the two evolved from the same ancestor, likely as two distinct, geographically seperated species, as the coyote was historically a western species, and the red wolf a distinctly southeastern species.

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The red wolves on St Vincent Island in Fl are 100% completely different than coyotes. Much bigger, and their howl is no where close. I've seen some big coyotes, but they are still nothing compared to those red wolves. you are talking 75 lbs compared to 40-50 for a huge coyote, That's a big difference.

I was bowhunting on SVI and we were riding our bikes back to camp after dark, those two were running the road to our north parallel to us and howling. Something I'll never forget, not close to a coyote that's for sure.