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Coyotes and wolves are considered different species because even though they have a history of interbreeding, each species has maintained its own unique species specific characteristics. If two populations are not the same species, but they interbreed freely, then one would expect blending inheritance to homogenize the two species, and the result is a single species, not two.
Coyotes are much smaller than wolves and they are different in their behavior. Coyotes are loners and they mostly hunt small animals. Wolves, OTOH, are social and they are pack hunters that often go after prey that are larger than themselves. Even though there is hybridization, the hybrids are, as is usually the case, maladaptive, because it would likely be larger than a coyote, but smaller than a wolf. If it tries to live a solitary life hunting small animals, it may not be able to find enough to eat, since larger animals obviously require a larger amount of food (even if they require a smaller percentage of their own body weight in food than smaller animals). Think of a mouse, it eats a higher percentage of its own body weight everyday than an elephant. However, in absolute terms, a mouse can survive on a few ounces of food per day, but an elephant needs hundreds of pounds of food per day. Therefore an individual coyote-wolf hybrid would need to eat a greater number of the same small animals that a coyote needs everyday. Since it is larger, it is also less agile and less able to catch its prey. Therefore a coyote-wolf hybrid is disadvantaged compared to a coyote.
If the coyote-wolf hybrid tries to join a wolf-pack, it would likely be low ranked, because it is smaller than most members of the pack. Lowest ranked, or omega, wolves are picked on by every other member of the pack, and they often end up leaving because they could not take the abuse for long. So, most likely a hybrid would be forced to live alone and faces the problem of being a large hunter of small animals.
Coyotes are much smaller than wolves and they are different in their behavior. Coyotes are loners and they mostly hunt small animals. Wolves, OTOH, are social and they are pack hunters that often go after prey that are larger than themselves. Even though there is hybridization, the hybrids are, as is usually the case, maladaptive, because it would likely be larger than a coyote, but smaller than a wolf. If it tries to live a solitary life hunting small animals, it may not be able to find enough to eat, since larger animals obviously require a larger amount of food (even if they require a smaller percentage of their own body weight in food than smaller animals). Think of a mouse, it eats a higher percentage of its own body weight everyday than an elephant. However, in absolute terms, a mouse can survive on a few ounces of food per day, but an elephant needs hundreds of pounds of food per day. Therefore an individual coyote-wolf hybrid would need to eat a greater number of the same small animals that a coyote needs everyday. Since it is larger, it is also less agile and less able to catch its prey. Therefore a coyote-wolf hybrid is disadvantaged compared to a coyote.
If the coyote-wolf hybrid tries to join a wolf-pack, it would likely be low ranked, because it is smaller than most members of the pack. Lowest ranked, or omega, wolves are picked on by every other member of the pack, and they often end up leaving because they could not take the abuse for long. So, most likely a hybrid would be forced to live alone and faces the problem of being a large hunter of small animals.
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