To keep pace with cats this month, let’s check out members of the dog family, ¡ole!, using this reference, except for a short side trip into the US:
More information:
- Lobos of the Southwest
- Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) in Valles Caldera
- Government of Mexico blog post (Spanish) on el lobo mexicano.
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We have already met the short-eared dog.
Next heading in our source is “Wolves and dogs,” and that’s a little misleading because the “wolves” are dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), both OG and modern —
Part of the 2022 Fédération Cynologique Internationale world championship agility trials in Brazil
— and the “dogs” are coyotes (Canis latrans), with the caveat that Wiley E. hasn’t quite yet moved from Panama into Colombia but probably soon will:
Panamanian coyotes look a little different from “ours”!
Evolutionary processes often allow some surprising flexibility in appearance so a population can make the most of whatever habitats they find themselves in.
Short-haired, lean coyotes would soon head south or freeze to death in Montana, while the long-haired chonks would soon be heat-exhausted in the tropics.
More information:
- On dogs in the Americas (jargon alert) and Native American dogs
- Coyotes in the Americas
- What is a coydog?
- Coyotes and habitats paper — major jargon alert!
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Some lagniappe:
Dogs and puppies, of course! My favorite is the dog trying to enjoy a bone at around 1:14:13 —
Featured image: lgillustrator/Shutterstock
Flight To Wonder 