For Fox Sake Wildlife Rescue in Chattanooga, Tennessee received a call about a baby fox found wet, cold, and barely responsive in the rain.
Tory Chang spotted the tiny animal while driving through a rural area. She rushed it into her car, convinced it was a fox, and immediately contacted the rescue.
But when she sent over a photo, the team hesitated. The little creature didn’t quite resemble a fox.
Still, they agreed to take the baby in, uncertain of what it truly was.
Yoti, The Strange-Looking Rescue Baby
“We asked the finder for a photo and were instantly a little puzzled because the “fox” looked more like a coyote pup in the face, paws, and tail in the blurry, dark picture we received but had markings more like a red fox,” the wildlife rescue wrote in their Facebook post.
They named her Yoti and speculated she might be a Shepherd and Cur mix or even a rare natural hybrid between a domestic dog and a coyote.
Without DNA testing, though, no one could say for certain.
Since the rescue couldn’t house domestic dogs, Yoti went to a foster home with volunteer Karen Keeton.
Her unusual appearance sparked widespread curiosity as people tried to guess her species.
“We are 100% positive that she is not a fox, and we’re certain she has at least one domestic dog ancestor. We know this because her markings are brindle, which are tied to specific genes that do not naturally occur in full-blooded coyotes,” the wildlife rescue wrote in their post.
As she grew, Yoti’s temperament became too difficult for a foster setting: too wild for a household, yet not quite fitting a standard domestic profile. She returned to the wildlife rescue.
“Her temperament, paw pad shape, and vocalizations are all exactly like a cross between a coyote and a domestic dog, but we won’t be able to confirm exactly what she is until we’ve seen her DNA test results,” the rescue said.
DNA Results Finally Reveal The Truth
After weeks of speculation, the DNA results arrived.
What do you think Yoti is – a fox, a domestic mutt, or a coyote hybrid?
“Yoti does have genetic markers that are unique to domestic dogs and were introduced within the last 4 generations. Coyote-domestic dog hybrids rarely occur or survive in the wild because their reproductive cycles don’t generally line up and because domestic dog dads are deadbeats who don’t help raise the young. But life, uh… finds a way,” said in the post.
The test suggested that Yoti’s great-great-grandparent was likely a domestic dog, perhaps a Shepherd-type mutt. Over generations, that lineage crossed into wild coyotes, producing Yoti’s striking look.
Despite this domestic link, both of Yoti’s parents were wild. She will be treated accordingly.
They decided that Yoti would be transferred to Walden’s Puddle, a wildlife rehabilitation & education center located in Joelton, Tennessee.
Once she matures and can fend for herself, Yoti will be released into the wild where she belongs.