Many South Hill residents have been reporting that they have been seeing coywolves, a hybrid between a wolf and a coyote roaming around their neighborhoods.
Public information officer for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Madonna Luers said no, people were not seeing the wildlife hybrid.
"In the western united states there is no coyote wolf hybridization at all. Wolves kill coyotes, they don't breed with them,” Luers explained.
That doesn’t mean they don’t exist, they just don’t roam around Spokane.
Luers said there were references of coywolves in the eastern United States. While there are some debates in the scientific community if they are true hybrid’s or not.
South Hill residents were concerned the coyotes they saw roaming around may have been hybrids due to their large size.
Luers explained that some coyotes get a little bit bigger in the winter time when it's cold their fur stands out to keep them warm and to insulate them.
Luers said that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn’t discount anything.
“We never say never in this business, but chances are, people are seeing big fluffy coyotes,” Luers said.