Toronto’s mystery predator really is a coy-wolf – but not as we know it

Part urban legend, part DNA-tested reality, the coyote-wolf hybrid has adapted to dense human-built environments

It was a spring morning when Elise Rustad saw the creature loping down a Toronto sidewalk. At a distance, it looked like a dog, but no owner was nearby. As it drew closer, she was struck by its size and its thick black, white and grey coat.

It was big. I've seen a wolf before," she said. And that really looked like a wolf."