Wolf or Coyote Ah-oooh You hear a strange howl in the dark Then you see a big furry animal looking into the night sky The animal turns to look at you then runs away Was this animal a wolf Or was it a coyote Or maybe it was a dog Wolves and coyotes and dogs look a lot alike Sometimes they act alike too But they are different species of animals How can you tell these animals apart Let’s find out the differences between wolves and coyotes 4
A Family Divided Wolves and coyotes are both part of the same family That family is the canine family Dogs are part of this family too So are foxes and jackals About two million years ago the canine family split into two groups One group was called vulpine The vulpine group included foxes The other group was called lupine The lupine group included wolves and coyotes About one million years ago wolves and coyotes split into two different species Red fox Power Word Lupine means showing features like a wolf Vulpine means having features more like a fox smaller and clever 6
NOW You KNow Scientists think that long long ago people domesticated wolves and turned them into pet dogs 7
