The mistake in identity is understandable. Like the stereotypical wolf, their coats tend to a salt and pepper color, mixed with various shades of tan, or buff, and red. Especially in the deep South, a small percentage of the coyote population is black, or at least very dark. The dark phase is not evenly distributed, but usually occurs with more frequency in some areas than in others. Deep-chested, narrow of hips, and slight of paunch, with long legs and shaggy coat, their appearance is deceptive.
Most observers invariably overestimate their weight.
One hunter brought a coyote he'd shot into Mississippi State's wildlife unit swearing it weighed 65 pounds. It tipped the scales at but 32. For the last twenty years or so the South's coyote population has been expanding at a howling rate. The spread of the diminuitive wolves has been nothing short of phenomenal. The coyote population exploded.