Smart and Adaptable Predator in our Forests, Parks, and Cities

      In parts of Eastern Canada and U.S. there is a new predator on the prowl. Most know this canine as simply a coyote, but it is actually a coyote and wolf-hybrid some are calling a Coywolf (Canis latrans var). The coywolf has the intelligence and stealth of a coyote and the size and strength of a wolf. This canine is rapidly becoming one of the top predators in our area. While wolves and coyotes prefer to hunt in different terrain, wolves like forests and coyotes like open space, the coywolf is well adapted for hunting in both, and their cries are a mixture of both breeds. They were first documented in 1919 and population has since grown into the millions. They are opportunistic predators mostly preying on small mammals, but will take advantage of anything larger if it is wounded or not paying attention.

      I think the concept of cross breeding is really cool. Its incredible to see how two predators can breed with each other and make a whole new breed that is much more adaptable and has the potential be more successful.

 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/coywolves-are-taking-over-eastern-north-america-180957141/
 http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/livingwithcoyotes/
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=andMu4oVgyw

Dog and Wolf Share Common Ancestor

A recent study in PLoS Genetics claims that dogs and wolves evolved from a common ancestor between 9,000 and 34,000 years ago. This dates back to before humans transition to agricultural societies which contradicts previous notions that early farmers adopted docile, friendly wolves that would later become our domesticated companions. It is believed that the earliest dogs may have lived among hunter-gatherer societies thus adapting to agricultural life later.

The team behind this study used the highest quality genome sequences to date from three grey wolves. They chose one wolf from China, Croatia and Israel because these regions represent where dogs are believed to have originated. They then compared these sequences to those of a basenji, which originates in central Africa, and a dingo from Australia. These breeds were chosen because both of these locations are isolated from modern wolf populations.

Their analysis of the different genomes revealed that the dog breeds were more closely related to each other rather than to the wolves. Likewise, the wolves genomes were also more closely related to each other than to the dogs. This indicates that instead of the dogs being closely related to one of the wolf lineages, or each dog being related to its closest geographic counterpart, (i.e. the basenji and Israeli wolf, or the dingo and the Chinese wolf), they may have descended from an extinct, wolf ancestor common to both species. It can now be said that it’s none of these three wolves that dogs are most closely related to because these are wolves that diverged in the recent past. It most likely is something more ancient that isn’t well represented by today’s wolves.

 

The history of the domestication of dogs has always been of interest to me and to find out that dogs are less related to modern wolves than we thought really makes the domestication process of canines much more complex. This study suggests that the genetic overlap between some modern dog breeds and wolves is the result of interbreeding after dog domestication, not just a simple direct line of decent from one group of wolves. Even more intriguing to me because as a husky owner I always wanted to believe my dog was more closely related to wolves than other breeds but this and other studies have stated that is simply not the case.

Article: 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140116190137.htm

Related Article:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0057754