Many zoologists have taken to studying the DNA of American coyote populations in an attempt to learn more about ancient canid populations, the ancestors of modern dogs. One problem with this pursuit is that American coyote populations have interbred heavily with feral dog populations. Thus, any group of coyotes zoologists decide to study will have significant amounts of dog DNA in its communal genome.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the criticism made above of the zoologists’ pursuit?