Coyotes bred with wolves, resulting in the Eastern coyote, which is as much as 20 pounds heavier than coyotes found in the West. Maine coyotes are becoming wolves. Maine’s coyotes are destined to become a bigger, bolder, more aggressive wolf-like animal, and in time will pose an even greater threat to the state’s white-tailed deer population. Some have been documented in Maine at 50 pounds. The Eastern coyote has a bigger skull and, more importantly, a wider jaw. Hunting: Coyotes impacting Maine deer. Genetic testing has shown that Eastern coyotes are eight to twenty-five percent genetically similar … By Bob Humphrey. Eastern coyotes could even replace wolves at the top of the food chain. Maine probably had a mixture of gray wolves in the north where moose and caribou were the predominant prey and red wolves in the south and along the coast where deer were the predominant prey. November 26, 2017 Bangor. If we want our children’s children’s children to accept and welcome wolves here in Maine — where they should be, since we need the larger canine here as well — then we should teach them through coyotes, because they are a wild canine like wolves, and a lot of our coyotes act like wolves here: they’re larger, with powerful jaws. Maine Deer and Transportation News Archive Bad News! Coyotes surviving in East, including Maine woods, by becoming more 'wolflike' By Patrick Whittle, Associated Press. Maine coyotes are becoming wolves. These two species may have hybridized in central portions of the state. November 26, 2017 Bangor Daily News... a ccording to Roland Kays, a leading coyote biologist with the … Share. PORTLAND, Maine — The future of the coyotes that roam forests, cities and suburbs from Newfoundland to Virginia could hinge on the animals becoming the "wolves" of the East Coast. PORTLAND, Maine — The future of the coyotes that roam forests, cities and suburbs from Newfoundland to Virginia could hinge on the animals becoming the "wolves" of the East Coast. The Western coyote is generally between 20 to 25 pounds, while Eastern coyotes weigh between 30 to 40 pounds. The Eastern coyote has long been recognized by state biologists as a coyote-wolf hybrid, first documented in Maine in the early 1900s. As the deer population decreases, coyotes are thriving.