Coywolf: Wild Hybrid Animals - National Geographic Wild Animal. Initially this animal was initially called coydog, then eastern coyote, and now coywolf with eastern coyote being the generally accepted term for this animal. The original wolf found in the Northeast was most probably the smallish (~60 pound) eastern wolf (Canis lycaon), which is very closely related to (and possibly the same species as) the red wolf (Canis rufus). The eastern wolf is actually more closely related to western coyotes than they are to the larger gray (western) wolf. It is currently questionable if the gray wolf actually ever lived in the Northeast as a unique species, or if the eastern wolf and possibly gray/eastern wolf hybrids (which are common in the Great Lakes states, Canis lupus x C. lycaon) were endemic to this region. It is generally accepted that the coywolf formed by hybridization events between western coyotes and eastern wolves in southern Ontario around the year 1919. Recent research shows that the coywolf also has gray wolf and domestic dog DNA introgression in addition to the commonly accepted western coyote and eastern wolf hybridization episodes.