Conservation Canines: How Dogs Work for the Environment
In Namibia Spots a Kangal shepherd works with Armas Shaanika Cheetah Conservation Fund’s chief goat herder to protect livestock from predators when herds graze on open farmlands
1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WORKING DOG I was once walking on a remote beach on Vancouver Island in British Columbia when I encountered a coastal wolf feeding on the shoreline For a short moment we both stood still looking into each other’s eyes I was taken aback by the mix of emotions I experienced I was standing in front of a wild animal yet this wolf seemed strangely familiar and I felt surprisingly surprisingly close to it Its posture and gaze reminded me of our cherished animal companion the dog The encounter lasted for only a few minutes and then the wolf walked away into the forest I often recall this encounter when I consider the ancient relationship relationship between humans and wolves Dogs our closest friends in the animal kingdom and the ones who support us in so many ways were once wolves Dogs came from the wild to live with humans They are able to communicate communicate with us in ways we rarely experience with other animals Perhaps because they create a bridge between the human world and the wild dogs are in the best position to do work that helps us in our interactions with wild animals whether it is to protect humans and farm animals from predators understand the natural world or conserve endangered species 55
The special qualities of our four legged companions have been acknowledged for thousands of years and to this day humans are still discovering jobs that dogs can do FROM WOLF TO DOG A long time ago dogs were wolves and today the closest living relative of the dog is the gray wolf Canis lupus Because dogs and present-day wolves share a common ancestor they can be viewed as cousins How and when some wolves became dogs is not known for certain One theory is that when humans established permanent permanent settlements their activities produced food waste which became an easy food source for individual wolves who were not afraid of humans Over time wolves became used to living with people and humans began to tolerate them as well It is also possible that some humans raised wolf cubs The process of domestication happened over many generations as ancient wolf lineages A coastal wolf scans the environment on Vancouver Island BC Wolf-dog Tundra and her owner Gary Allan meet children on a walk on Vancouver Island BC
a lineage is a group of individuals descending from a common ancestor adapted to humans becoming more and more tame Eventually they had become distinct from their wild ancestors in both behavior and appearance appearance Meanwhile the other wolves stayed wild and these are the wolves that still live in the forests and other habitats today Dogs were the first domesticated animal and scientists scientists believe this domestication occurred about 14,000 to 40,000 years ago in Europe or East Asia Archaeological evidence of canines and humans being buried together 14,000 years ago indicates the close bond that existed between people and dogs even at that time Modern dog breeds are a product of the last 200 years and there is now incredible diversity in the animals size shape and behavior There are nearly 400 breeds today and dogs are by far the planet’s most abundant carnivore with an estimated estimated population of 900 million A WOLF IN DOG’S CLOTHING During the summer of 2018 locals found the remains of an 18,000 year old puppy buried in a frozen lump of mud near Yakutsk a city in eastern Siberia Russia Preserved by permafrost the animal’s parts were remarkably intact including its nose fur whiskers and teeth Researchers suggest the animal was just two months old when it died although they do not know the cause of death What is intriguing about this discovery is that the scientists who conducted initial DNA tests were not able to define the puppy as a wolf dog or wolf-dog which shows there is still much to learn about the origin of dogs Further tests might provide more insight into exactly when dogs were domesticated In the meantime since it has been established that the puppy is a male the scientists have named him Dogor which means friend in the Yakut language Modern dogs are descendants of wolves JAMES GRITZ AND R A KEARTON GETTY IMAGES Dogs have been people’s companions for thousands of years
