coyote or wolf or is there a new

[Tony Cooney]

A local biologist from MUN is calling the current "Coyote Question" debate a textbook example of the politicization of science....and the real question is; why were samples of an animal shot near Bonavista earlier this year sent out of the province for further analysis?

Dr. Steve Carr says questions about the genetic identity of the animal have become so politicized that he feels it's time to review the genetic science involved. He says few, if any, people who have seen pictures of the 82 pound animal believe it is a coyote. Carr says Environment Minister Terry French is reported as saying he has 'conflicting reports' on the animal's genetics. Carr says the truth is, if it is a hybrid, the scientific answers might not be as simple as some might hope. He says the diagnosis is complicated by the extremely complex history of reintroduction, invasion, and hybridization among wolves and coyotes in eastern North America, including Newfoundland. Carr says MUN and the province have the necessary expertise to handle complex analysis, and he says the real question is why government felt it necessity to send samples of Newfoundland species outside of the province. Carr says given the complexity of the animal's history, a simple, or 'once and for all' identification is unlikely, with the only definitive answer being what it is not.

[Cathy Stamp]

Make ya wonder!!

 

[Peter Emberley]

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Thank Guys,

 Peter