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Wolves May Be 'Re-Domesticating' Into Dogs (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit quotes a report from Science Magazine: It happened thousands of years ago, and it may be happening again: Wolves in various parts of the world may have started on the path to becoming dogs. That's the conclusion of a new study, which finds that the animals are increasingly dining on livestock and human garbage instead of their wild prey, inching closer and closer to the human world in some places. But given today's industrialized societies, this closeness might also bring humans and wolves into more conflict, with disastrous consequences for both. To find out how gray wolves might be affected by eating more people food, Thomas Newsome, an evolutionary biologist at the Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, and his colleagues examined studies of what's happened to other large carnivores that live close to people. Newsome's 2014 study of a dingo population in Australia's Tanami Desert showed that the wild dogs' habit of dining almost exclusively on junk food at a waste management facility had made them fat and less aggressive. They were also more likely to mate with local dogs and had become "cheeky," says Newsome, daring to run between his legs as he set out traps for them. Most intriguingly, the dumpster dingoes' population formed a genetic cluster distinct from all other dingoes -- indicating that they were becoming genetically isolated, a key step in forming a new species. Is this happening to gray wolves? The conditions are ripe for it, says Newsome, noting that human foods already make up 32% of gray wolf diets around the world. The animals now mostly range across remote regions of Eurasia and North America, yet some are returning to developed areas. The paper has been published in the journal Bioscience.
But given today's industrialized societies, this closeness might also bring humans and wolves into more conflict, with disastrous consequences for both
How could that have "disastrous" consequences for humans? If a group of wolves say inflict a few deaths on humans (nothing like the numbers from say boating accidents let alone road deaths) then the wolves will be wiped out. That may be a shame or even a tragedy but the potential disastrousness from conflict here is only for the wolves.
It happened thousands of years ago, and it may be happening again
So bark we all!
Ezekiel 23:20
The domestication into dogs was the result of introducing wolfs into society from when they where puppies and active breeding. Just having wolfs living closer to humans won't domesticate them, just like birds and other animals that practically like on top of us aren't domesticated.
I think they're just being smart. Why have to forage when you have an all-you-can-eat buffet in your backyard?
and it wont result in dogs 2.0
It wasnt just proximity to humans that cause the first domestication event in wolves (or really, several parallel events), but conditions that also resulted animals with less aggression, which was then amplified by captive breeding.
this event isnt structured to provide that reduction in aggression.
but it will provide an increase in guile.
this isnt dogs 2.0
this is coyotes 2.0
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
Unsafe to own. All should be wiped out
http://q13fox.com/2017/04/03/3...
The population growth of people is growing exponentially, it is destroying their natural environment and bringing down the amount of wild food that is available to Wolves. When there is no more wilderness left, you force the wolves to scavenge among people and it will create conflict.
It is quite sad, but it will get worse and worse. People are selfish and greedy, it is killing off lots of species every year through different causes.
Coyotes are more common in my area.
Alaska, Bears will enter a bus to eat workers lunches.
Deer, suburbs are entering their area so they have to raid what they can till captured as someone will call about them.
Yellowstone, Bears have entered cars through windows forcing people to exit while it searches for food.
One doesn't feed or allow animals to find a source of food or they will make it a habit.
Human garbage. Wolves are eating human garbage, which I assume to be the Mexicans and the Canadians. This is tragic. We need them to do the dishes and housework, donchano.
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Your Glorious Leaders have know this for a while.
People are too fucking lazy to buy a proper garbage can that is animal proof, they also think feeding the wildlife is helping. The problem is the education level of the population has continued a downward spiral and will only get worse.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Am I the only one that thinks "the Dumpster Dingos" would be a good name for a band?
As long as they don't start thinking digital watches are a good idea.
rewriting history since 2109
When a male dog meets a female wolf ...
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
Wolves' domestication is merely a step towards occupying the niche that has been held by humans over the past couple thousand years, which people are now abandoning as they increasingly begin to act like animals. I attribute this to the rise in 'furry' culture and animal avatars in Second Life, and the whole 'horse schlong' thing.
People have also been observed repeatedly making swiping motions on their smartphones to navigate endless Javascript scrolls on social media platforms like Facebook, which is a re-emergence of social grooming habits. When the cell networks finally go down we will drop our phones and instead resume picking fleas off each other, while the wolves take our places in industry and commerce.
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
The wolves are stressed, food chain is unraveling. It's caused by us, and we offer the only respite. Buy beans and rice.
Ice free arctic and global famines are coming.
We all know its because of global warming. thats what CNN told me. these scientists have just been paid by the Trump Administration to say this shit!
The choice of dingos breeding with domestic dogs is a poor choice. Dingos were introduced by humans a few thousand years ago. Their origins are semi-domesticated dogs in SE Asia. They may be an Ozzie icon but they aren't a native species. Yes, when does something become native is something we can debate.
So rather than diluting a wild dog, mating with domestic dogs, the dingos are actually returning to their roots.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Documentary: "Meet The Coywolf"
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
My testicles, Summer. They were removed. Where have they gone?
...and saw a cousin lounging on the couch and they want in on that.
My personal theory is that domestic dogs evolved from coy wolves, a cross between coyotes and wolves that are quite smart, adaptable, opportunistic... and have little fear of humans. Modern coy wolves appear to be attempting to interbreed with domestic canines. Like Captain Kirk, the obviously have no qualms against dating outside their own species.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
"Wolves in various parts of the world may have started on the path to becoming dogs. That's the conclusion of a new study, which finds that the animals are increasingly dining on livestock and human garbage instead of their wild prey"
If this is correct, we should soon see huge packs of wolves "draining the swamp," no?
I've seen this happen, all the way. I have a ranch. Local wolves came to stay. They are now part of our ranch. They guard our livestock, herd our livestock and work with us. This has been a very good relationship. People see them and are amazed that the wolves are doing the job rather than killing the livestock. They still look very much the wolf but they regard our livestock as theirs to manage and protect. They take their share, but it is given to them. There is an Alpha wolf within their pack but I and my family are Alpha to them. They in turn keep out their wild cousins, the bears, the mountain lions and stray humans who would steal from our ranch.
It has now been seven (wolf) generations of the wolves working on our farm. It works. It's good for all of us.
It can be done pretty easily -- let people kill any wolves that come into populated areas, like they used to be allowed to do. The wolves that survive will be those that fear people and stick to the wilds.
And it's not like it would actually endanger the wolves -- the IUCN listing for them is Least Concern. The "Endangered Species Act" listing of them as "endangered" merely indicated they were rare in the lower 48 states; Canada, Alaska, Russia, and China have plenty.
Second, the dependence on human garbage that the researchers posit is a fantasy of theirs. Wolf population density maps with their prey population density, not the garbage dump count.
If "normal", natural apex predators are desired, controlling their own numbers as apex predators do and avoiding humans sharing their habitat, being wary enough to be reliably safe, then wolves should simply be left alone to be wolves whenever possible, problem individuals and packs dealt with.
Making their packs bigger with nonbreeding adults and protecting huge territories with prey populations large enough to be sustained, their population controls, aren't going to work with wolf seasons tattering and decimating the wolf packs, and they'll be bred into the equivalent of coyotes, it will simply be easier for them to survive as small packs and pairs, and useless to depend on other pack members that will disappear. Just comparing the reproduction rate in Wisconsin and Michigan shows they adapt to humans giving a new breeding pair territory by killing a couple of wolves in a large pack instantly by moving in and adding their own litter, doubling the pups per adult wolf in that pack's former territory.
coming soon to your local pet store.