Trail Cam Footage Shows Pack of Black Coyotes

Spotting a black, or melanistic, coyote in the wild is fairly rare. Capturing footage of an entire pack of black coyotes is almost unheard of. But a video posted on the Kentucky Wildlife Trail Cam Videos YouTube page shows a group of at least six melanistic coyotes walking down a wooded trail.

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According to the Atlanta Coyote Project, melanism is a trait occasionally seen in coyotes in the Southeast, but rarely exhibited by coyotes elsewhere. The organization, which consists of scientists devoted to learning more about coyotes living within the metro Atlanta area, states the same genetic mutation that causes the trait in coyotes can also be found in black-colored gray and red wolves, as well as in dogs. This leads to the conclusion that the trait likely found its way into the southeastern coyote gene pool through past hybridizations with wolves and dogs.

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