Friday, August 26, 2011

Wildlife

I am visiting my family in New York State, at the house I grew up in, which my father still occupies. It is very rural. Although I very much like living in a big city now, I do miss the wildlife of my woods-and-fields childhood. Today I saw several deer, a flock of wild turkeys, and a rabbit. There is also a coyote slinking around, captured on film by my father a few weeks ago:

The eastern coyote (unlike the western one) carries DNA that is a mix of coyote genes (82%), wolf genes (9%), and dog genes (9%). It eats carrion and small mammals. My toy poodle, Cosette, is a small mammal -- so perhaps it's fortunate that she is back in Seattle.

This rural idyll is also a good contrast to Worldcon in Reno. Both are fun, and it is the contrast itself that is so satisfying.

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1 comment:

  1. LouAugust 29, 2011 at 4:38 PM

    I think I remember reading that Canis Lupus (the wolf) and Canis Domesticus (the dog) are actually the same creature because they can interbreed. If so, then your Eastern coyote is more dog / wolf than anything else, right? Finally, if they can ALL interbreed, aren't they all the same species? I bow to your expertise on this...

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