A new tag for my hunting license?

And a new species for animal activists to get bent out of shape over:

The study, outlined in the latest issue of Royal Society Biology Letters, reveals that some of the largest specimens were indeed coyote and wolf hybrids.

Given where these animals came from and the degree of documented genetic diversity, the researchers can tell that a few coyote females mated with male wolves north of the Great Lakes.

Sweeeeet. I've been slowly gearing up for predator hunting, which is why I have modified my DPMS AP4 rifle to fit that need. A small handy carbine with an attached light is perfect for the job; now all I need is the time.

The coyote population seems to be growing here in Virginia, but they mostly eat small critters. At this point it probably wouldn't hurt to have a predator around that's big enough to eat the abundance of deer that are now displaced from all the freaking houses and Linens N Things that have sprouted up over the Old Dominion.

Seriously.

I don't know whether the deer population is any larger than it was ten years ago, but now instead of the "hey, look. . . a deer" on my way to work, I have to swerve around herds of them in the road.

A coywolf would also look fantastic mounted on my mantle. I'm not speaking for anybody else, but I'm all about some coywolves making their way down here!