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.

When was this?

Didn't realize there were so any more comments this morning.

First off, this was in daylight. Saw it around 5:30pm.

Showed my parents the picture of the red wolf next to the coyote from page 2. Said it was most certainly NOT the coyote. Far too big of an animal, and the facial features/ears were closer to the wolf's.

That being said, my dad and I think it was a coyote hybrid of some sort.

But my mom insists it was a wolf.

She grew up in a family of avid outdoorsmen living in the middle of nowhere foothills of Mt. St. Helens from the 60s through the 80s. Though they were rare then, she did see grey wolves on multiple occasions when out with her dad, at least before Helens blew. So she does know what they look like. Which was why she said that's what it was until I showed them pictures of red wolves.

They aren't from that area for the record, were only there to deliver parts to the mill in Elliot. So they can't try to go back and find paw prints as someone suggested.

I'm glad I started a lively debate. Nature is weird, so you never KNOW on something like this. That being said, with how prevalent coyotes are becoming, and with how many people own one of the dog breeds with wolf like features, it is far more likely for their copulation to produce an animal very similar in looks and stature.

Which I guess begs the question, if it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, but bark or yips instead of howls, is it a duck?

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Sounds like something a little Indian (feather) boy would say when recounting his upbringing to the white man.

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That must have made a lot more sense in your head

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my buddy near Centreville has a black coyote on his property

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Ive seen a bunch of them on game cameras. Always said I wanted to get a full body mount done

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Made more sense to me than a "near 100% hybrid". I mean, what the hell does that even mean? Lol

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High content wolf dog.

My dog's unknown grandfather had to be over 95% wolf for him to have the genetic percentage of wolf that he does.

Wolf dog or not, there was a near 100% wolf roaming around yazoo city. That can have a huge effect on the local coyote population.

no they didn't

Might've been Redd Foxx

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A lot of people in Atlanta saw a tiger walking the highway the other day. Anything is possible.

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An escaped tiger. It wasn't an animal that hasn't been seen in the wild in 30 years wandering around.

I'll always subscribe to the idea that anything is possible when it comes to wildlife, but when these things are continuously proven to not be red wolves, or black panthers, or bigfoot...