Wolf-dog Hybrid !?

Hello friends! I have always been fascinated by how the dogs (Canis lupis familaris) are subspecies from wolves (Canis lupus)! A great way to imagine I am hugging a wolf will be hugging a Siberian Husky, a breed of Canis lupis familaris, but there’s a big difference between the two. The main difference between these two canids is that Canis lupis familaris underwent the domestication process, where Canis lupus was the first species to be domesticated by humans due to their positive socialization (Anderson, 2018). Socialization is a process for a maturing animal to learn and interact with humans.

Let us find out the differences between these categories together!

Assign options A,B and C to the picture you think suits best:  

A. Domestic dog

B. Free-ranging domestic dog

C. Feral dog

“Feral dogs in Hong Kong” by sumesh2007 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

 

Here are the answers!

Domestic DogDomestic dog

Adapted the “Feral dogs in Hong Kong” by sumesh2007 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Stray dogs which are going to be fed by humans

Was it hard to differentiate between feral and free-ranging domestic dogs (FRDD)? It was confusing to me before I studied it. Some of the feral dogs do look like FRDD, like these feral dogs in Palestine.

“Feral dogs in Palestine” by بدارين is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

In Singapore, we commonly term the FRDDs as “stray/street dogs’’. The FRDDs can be owned or unowned: The unowned FRDDs are free to roam around, typically living close to human homes and are not controlled by humans (Anderson, 2018). The FRDDs can find food and shelter intentionally or non-intentionally provided by humans. Also, FRDDs can be owned dogs, meaning the owners allow them to roam around on various times of the day without supervision (Coppinger & Coppinger, 2001).

Similarly, feral dogs have gone through the domestication process. The main distinguishing factor of feral dogs from FRDD is that feral dogs avoid humans and have no socialization. They live away from humans without food and shelter support. However, feral dogs are not considered wild animals as have gone through domestication and have the genetic composition for domesticated dogs (Ádám Miklósi, 2015).

Despite the evolution of dogs from wolves, these two candids are finding their way back together via hybridization in recent years. It is of environmental concern as the hybridization of FRDD and wolves can change the genetic integrity of the wolves, which could potentially threaten the fitness of wolves. It was reported that 6 wolf-dog hybrids were found in Estonia and 2 wolf-dog hybrids were found in Latvia (Kadzidlowo Hindrikson, Ma¨nnil, Ozolins, Krzywinski, Saarma, 2012).  A wolf-dog hybrid of male polish spaniel (FRDD, abandoned or free roaming) and female gray wolf (wild animal) was found in Poland, at Wildlife Park (Kadzidlowo Hindrikson et al., 2012).

“First-generation (F1) wolf-dog hybrid from Wildlife Park Kadzidlowo, Poland” by Andrzej Krzywinski is licensed under CC BY 3.0

To conserve the wolf population, wolf hunting should be discouraged and prohibited to prevent the lowering of wolf numbers. With smaller wolf populations, the impacts on hybridization between FRDDs and wolves are amplified, threatening the conservation of wolves, especially if the fitness of subsequent wolf offspring are affected (Kadzidlowo Hindrikson et al., 2012).

I’ll probably get to hug a hybrid wolf soon… Hopefully not since it would mean the wolf species are threatened.

Paws out!

References:

Anderson, E. N. (2018). The first domestication: How wolves and humans coevolved. By Raymond Pierotti and Brandy R. Fogg. 2017. Yale University Press, New Haven. 326 pp. Ethnobiology Letters, 9(2), 247-249. doi:10.14237/ebl.9.2.2018.1379

Coppinger, R., Coppinger, L. (2001). Dogs: a new understanding of canine origin, behavior and evolution. Chicago University Press, Chicago, IL.

Hindrikson, M., Ma¨nnil, P., Ozolins, J., Krzywinski, A., Saarma, U. (2012). Bucking the Trend in Wolf-Dog Hybridization: First Evidence from Europe of Hybridization between Female Dogs and Male Wolves. PLoS ONE 7(10): e46465. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0046465

Miklósi, A. (2015;2014;). Dog behaviour, evolution, and cognition (Second ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646661.001.0001

2 thoughts on “Wolf-dog Hybrid !?

  1. Hi Rachel,
    That wolf-dog hybrid is really gorgeous!! It’s too bad that this is actually an undesirable hybrid that can end up harming the wolf population. On a similar topic, there has been a lot of debate regarding the selective breeding of domesticated dogs. The French bulldogs are one of the more popular purebred dogs but their cuteness come at a cost. While their large and flat face appeals to many, I have heard that these Frenchies are prone to many ailments because of that. What are your views on humans intentionally breeding dogs to create the “ideal” dog? Do you think there are responsible or irresponsible cases of selective breeding?

    1. Hi Jia Wei!

      Thank you for reading my blog post! The hybrid offspring of the free-ranging domesticated dog (FRDD) and the gray wolf is indeed beautiful! Sadly, it is a rising concern in conservation biology. This cross breeding allows the chance for genetic information from one species (the FRDD) to transferr to the another species (the Gray wolf). This hybridization can potentially lead to genetic incompatibilities in the hybrid offspring. If these hybrids mate with the wolves, the subsequent offspring population might have reduced fitness. This raises an environmental concern of the presence of FRDDs near the wildlife populations.

      I find the selective breeding of French bulldogs (a.k.a frenchies) a sad case of how humans are loving these breeds to their deaths. I don’t think the owners know of the potential health implications upon the purchase of the dogs, there were owners coming to my clinic being surprised and shocked that frenchies are genetically prone to suffering from Brachycephalic Airway Obstructive Syndrome (BOAS). Although it can be surgically corrected, it comes with the risks and complications during the surgery under anesthesia. Due to this syndrome, it is hard for them to regulate their temperatures by panting out the hot air. There are many other breeds that are selectively bred and are genetically predisposed to medical conditions. Although breed feels irresponsible to me, I feel that it is not possible to stop the breeding of these breeds.

      Moreover, if these animals were to be lost or get abandoned by owners and become FRDD, there’s a hypothetical chance they might cross breed with wildlife and affect wildlife negatively (e.g the hybrid of french bulldog x gray wolf having a flat face). This would mean that it is necessary for greater ownership responsibility and more regulations to be put in place with regards to the breeding of dog breeds predisposed to moderate- to serious medical conditions.

      Thank you for reading my post!

      -Rachel

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