The Grey Wolf Preserved to Extinction? Kaj Granlund

The Grey Wolf

Preserved to Extinction?

January 25, 2014Kaj Granlund ver 1.03

ABSTRACTThe official debate about the wolf ’s existence overshadows a serious question concerning our wolf population, a question that our researchers and authorities have studiously ignored. The question is: how hybridized is our wolf populati-on and how do we define and recognize a wolf ? Today a form of DNA analysis is used to characterize wolves as purebred or not, but the phenotype does not always match the alleged genotype. An animal that interpretation of DNA ana-lysis supposedly validates as a pure grey wolf may fail to meet a number of gene-rally accepted requirements for a wolf ’s appearance. In some cases hunters have been sentenced to prison, fine, and bans from hunting without anyone daring to question the evidentiary value of the DNA interpretation used to certify an ani-mal as a wolf. This has led to a situation in which complete ignorance about the purity of the species prevails among researchers and authorities in Europe today.

This growing ignorance about the appearance of real wolves is fed to the public by the media and by ignorant photographers. Facebook and the Internet are aflood with photographs of typical dog/wolf mongrels, most of which are taken around carcasses where these hybrid animals spend most of their time.

My intent with this book is to describe the most important differences between dogs and wolves based on morphological analysis and to answer the question, “How does a grey wolf look?” I also point out differences between the traits of wolves and dogs in order to shed light on the behavioral consequences of allo-wing wolves and dogs to crossbreed in the wild.

Wolves and hybrids play an important role in spreading diseases and parasites, some of which are potentially fatal to humans. I raise the question of parasites disseminated by these animals even though much has already been published on the subject on the Internet.

The target audience for this book is the average European having neither per- sonal experience in nature nor specialized biological education sufficient to un-derstand the professional jargon of experts.

Kaj Granlund

TABLE OF CONTENTSAbstract ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 3Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

EVOLUTIONEvolution in practice ................................................................................................................................................................ 13Is evolution inconsistent .......................................................................................................................................................... 15Evolution and refinement ........................................................................................................................................................ 16Interbreeding and barriers to hybridization ............................................................................................................................. 16Hybridization ........................................................................................................................................................................... 18Evolution through hybridization .............................................................................................................................................. 19Evolution through human intervention ................................................................................................................................... 20

Artificial selection and selective breeding ...................................................................................................................... 20Conservation and habitat restoration ............................................................................................................................. 21

THE GREY WOLFCANIS LUPUS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 25

The Arctic wolf ......................................................................................................................................................................... 26The Iberian wolf ....................................................................................................................................................................... 27The Italian Wolf ....................................................................................................................................................................... 28The Eurasian Wolf .................................................................................................................................................................... 29

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS ............................................................................................................................................................... 31Wolf tracks ............................................................................................................................................................................... 31The shape of the body ............................................................................................................................................................. 33The size of a wolf ..................................................................................................................................................................... 35The fur and coloration ............................................................................................................................................................. 36The tail .................................................................................................................................................................................... 38Facial expression ...................................................................................................................................................................... 39Head ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 40Ears .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 41Front legs ................................................................................................................................................................................. 42Claws ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 42Skeleton .................................................................................................................................................................................. 43Cranium ................................................................................................................................................................................... 43A comparison of two skulls ...................................................................................................................................................... 45Three skulls, one wolf ............................................................................................................................................................. 46Wolf pups and dogs ................................................................................................................................................................. 47Sense of smell ......................................................................................................................................................................... 49Sight ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 49Territory ................................................................................................................................................................................... 49

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WOLVES AND HUMAN INTERACTIONWOLVES AND DOGS ............................................................................................................................................................................ 53

Study 1 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 54Study 2 .................................................................................................................................................................................... 54Hazardous interpretations ....................................................................................................................................................... 56Taming wolves ......................................................................................................................................................................... 56Is the wolf dangerous to humans? ........................................................................................................................................... 57

WOLVES, HYBRIDS AND FERAL DOGSHybrids — An introduction ..................................................................................................................................................... 61Genetics for dummies .............................................................................................................................................................. 62Genetic pollution and hybrids .................................................................................................................................................. 63The red wolf ............................................................................................................................................................................. 68Impacts of genetic pollution .................................................................................................................................................... 68How to fight hybridization ....................................................................................................................................................... 70More knowledge ..................................................................................................................................................................... 70Less fear .................................................................................................................................................................................. 71Carcasses and hybrids .............................................................................................................................................................. 71

WOLFDOGS OR HYBRIDSThe Saarloos wolfhound .......................................................................................................................................................... 74The Czechoslovakian Vlčák ....................................................................................................................................................... 76Miscellaneous breeds .............................................................................................................................................................. 78Owning a wolfdog ................................................................................................................................................................... 79

Motivation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 80Expected behavior .......................................................................................................................................................... 80

Legislation ............................................................................................................................................................................... 80

LOCAL AUTHORITIES

AND HYBRIDSJunseletiken ............................................................................................................................................................................ 84A wolf cocktail ......................................................................................................................................................................... 85Auli the pure dog .................................................................................................................................................................... 86Danish wolves .......................................................................................................................................................................... 88Authorities endangering nature .............................................................................................................................................. 89Nobody cares ........................................................................................................................................................................... 92The carousel goes round .......................................................................................................................................................... 93

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS

QUO VADIS CANIS LUPUSWolves in the future ................................................................................................................................................................ 95

REFERENCES

WOLVES, DISEASES AND

PARASITESRABIES ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 101

Basic life-cycle ....................................................................................................................................................................... 103Eggs in the environment ........................................................................................................................................................ 103Intermediate hosts ................................................................................................................................................................ 104Echinococcus multilocularis ................................................................................................................................................... 104Echinococcus granulosus ....................................................................................................................................................... 105Safety precautions and disinfection ....................................................................................................................................... 106Sources and routes of infection .............................................................................................................................................. 106Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................................. 107

DNA - THE TOOLDNA - DeoxyriboNucleic Acid ................................................................................................................................................. 109RNA - RiboNucleic Acid .......................................................................................................................................................... 111Genes .................................................................................................................................................................................... 111Chromosomes ........................................................................................................................................................................ 112Mitochondrial DNA ................................................................................................................................................................ 113Materlineality and mtDNA ..................................................................................................................................................... 114Mutation ............................................................................................................................................................................... 114The genetic map .................................................................................................................................................................... 116Alleles .................................................................................................................................................................................... 116Genetic markers ..................................................................................................................................................................... 117DNA profiling ......................................................................................................................................................................... 117VNTR - Variable Number Tandem Repeat ............................................................................................................................... 118Microsatellites and minisatellites .......................................................................................................................................... 119DNA reliability and interpretation .......................................................................................................................................... 119Markers and reliability ........................................................................................................................................................... 120Dog breed tests ...................................................................................................................................................................... 121DNA, dogs and wolves ........................................................................................................................................................... 121Testing hybrids ...................................................................................................................................................................... 122What is the true reliability of DNA? ........................................................................................................................................ 123It is all about matching .......................................................................................................................................................... 123Sources and reliability ........................................................................................................................................................... 124Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................................ 124

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HYBRIDS AND WOLVES

Data requirements for the DNA records submitted to NDIS ........................................................................................... 125Data requirements for DNA records submitted to wolfs’ databases. ............................................................................. 126

INTRODUCTIONOur wolf population is undergoing a dramatic revolution and our genetic research is concentrated on the narrow genetic base of a tiny population. Less attention is paid to the fact that both wolves and hybrids are being reshaped by manmade changes to their natural environments. As a result, evolution will favor properties that help these animals live close to humans. The winners in this contest are the hybrids, and the authentic wolf will soon disappear. I remember the warning of Canadian professor Valerius Geist, who stated that the easiest way to exterminate the wolf is to let hybrids take over.

The debate brought about by the growing wolf population in Europe began when the European Union required its member states to undertake strict protection of the wolf. This debate has now reached a stage at which it lacks sound argu-ments and is dominated instead by emotion. Efforts to elevate the discussion to a sound and reasonable level are promptly suppressed with jeers and threats. The war has moved onto the Internet, and our politicians are more interested in polls and election forecasts than in sustainable solutions.

The discussion has come to a point where increasing numbers of people participate in it without having the slightest knowledge about either the animals in question or nature. Most of these individuals have received their information from TV programs or visits to animal parks. It becomes even worse when so-called professionals and bureaucrats have gotten their knowledge about nature from dissertations, theoretical studies, and politically influenced surveys, thus causing environmental protection to depart from practical knowledge and experience and into cyberspace.

The situation is no better at the level of compulsory education, either, as biol-ogy books seem to be jam-packed with wishful thinking about the true face of nature. Lines have been drawn and a countdown has begun. One of the first victims of this contest will be the authentic Grey Wolf.

It is hardly surprising that the wolf has the role of hero and/or villain in this contest. Our ability to interact with dogs and the ability of both parties to interpret emotions, gestures and facial expressions of the other have suddenly been extrapolated to include the wolf. The wolf is seen as a symbol of the big fierce forests, and wolf enthusiasts attempt, through these “cousins” of the familiar dog, to experience the unbounded freedom that urban people lost long ago.

HYBRIDS AND WOLVES

HYBRIDS AND WOLVES

The domestication of the dog began more than 10.000 years ago. The oldest fossils have been dated to that time. Older fossils have been found on the Altai mountains in Russia. These are claimed to be up to 33.000 years old, but there is some uncertainty concerning their age.

Although hundreds of breeds of dogs have been created over the ages, today’s wolf is more closely related to the dog than today’s human is to Neanderthals. As a consequence it is still possible to cross dogs with wolves in order to create new breeds with elements of both species. Henceforth I will describe these uninten-tionally crossed mongrels as hybrids.

By crossing dogs with wolves, it is possible to create excellent dogs for various diverse purposes, but crossing dogs and wolves always results in poor wolves. These hybrids inherit traits from the dog that wolves do not possess, and those traits may cause dramatic changes in behavior. Even worse, these changes always push the wolf population in an undesirable direction and closer to total exter-mination.

To put an end to the totally meaning-less wolf debate, and to shift its focus away from our relationship with dogs and toward our respect for wolves, I decided to document the major differ-ences in appearance and behavior that distinguish wolves from dogs.

My hope is for everyone participat-ing in this debate to become able to recognize the major differences between hybrids and the Grey Wolf. Not every-thing that runs on four legs and feasts on carcasses is a wolf, even if a preponder-ance of our prominent nature photographers want to believe so. The differences between wolves and dogs are obvious, while the differences between wolves and hybrids can be subtle. In this situation, we should bear in mind a fundamental rule:

One doglike trait turns a wolf into a outlaw hybrid, whereas one wolflike trait in a dog does not turn it into a wolf.

Without the support of many experts and writers, it would not have been possible for me to write this booklet. Many thanks to my advisers Eirik Granqvist, Kaarlo Nygren, and Erik S. Nyholm.

The skull of the Altai dog

Eirik Granqvist is an internationally respected museum conservator with exten-sive expertise in nature and natural history.

Kaarlo Nygren, is a former researcher at the Finnish Game and Fisheries Re-search Institute (FGFRI).

PhD Erik S. Nyholm is a former researcher at FGFRI, and an internationally re-spected predator specialist. He contributed with useful information and pictures of wolves and hybrids.

PhD Hannu Turpeinen from Tampere University, Institute of Biomedical Tec-nology, reviewed Appendix B and provided me with useful information about DNA analysis.

My warm thanks to Dr. Elis Pålsson’s son Birger, who provided me with valuable materials about all reports which Elis Pålsson, during his active years, translated from Russian to Swedish and Norwegian.

James Trueblood of Atlanta, Georgia, corrected a number of typographical er-rors and helped me clarify my presentation of certain ideas.

Most of all, I thank my dear wife Helena for her everlasting patience with me, considering all the hours I spent at my computer, trying to solve the equation with wolves and dogs.

Kaj Granlund

HYBRIDS AND WOLVES

EVOLUTIONIs evolution simply a sequence of small changes in an organism caused by mutations, or are there other forms of development in nature? Usually we assume that new species always are the result of genetic changes caused by mutation, but nature recognizes other causes of genetic change as well.

When I published the first version of this book on the Internet, the question arose as to which method takes precedence when defining species. Is it the phe-notype (appearance) or the genotype (DNA) that matters? I faced harsh verbal attacks from wolf enthusiasts claiming that DNA analysis is the only tool for determining whether a canid is a dog, a hybrid, or a wolf. They were happy to accept the most incongruous variations in wolves’ appearance as long as these animals could be “proven” to be pure wolves by interpreting genetic evidence. In order to understand my skepticism toward current interpretations of DNA anal-ysis in distinguishing wolves from hybrids, we need a short review of evolution.

The modern science of evolution began when Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace published an article wherein they introduced the concept of natural selection. In the 1930s Darwin’s theory was combined with Gregor Mendel’s genetics, together forming the basis of the modern evolutionary synthesis (also called neo-darwinism), wherein evolution and genetics were reconciled as the foundation of modern evolutionary biology. [25]

The theory of evolution is one of our most all-encompassing scientific theories, and its applications can be found within many areas of our society. The theory of evolution is the overall central theory for all biological sciences, including genetics, biochemistry, physiology and behavior culture. [26]

Evolution is change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. The evolutionary process gives rise to diversity and it is the origin of the large variety of species in the biological world. All current species are related to each other through a common origin, from which they have developed through the process of evolution.

THE GREY WOLF

PRESERVED TO EXTINCTION

Species are simply the result of small accumulated changes over a long time

It is important to understand the fundamental (axiomatic) truths of evolution in order to place morphological analysis in its proper relationship to interpretation of DNA evidence.

Hereditary traits reside in genes. Evolution is triggered by mutations, which oc-cur when the DNA sequence in a gene is damaged or changed in a way that alters the genetic message carried by that gene. There are many different mechanisms by which DNA sequences can be changed, and these result in different types of mutations. Mutations can have no effect, alter the product of a gene, or prevent the gene from functioning properly or completely. Different variants of the same gene are called alleles, and evolution occurs when certain alleles become more common or less common. Sometimes, different alleles can result in different observable phenotypic characteristics, such as differences in pigmentation. How-ever, many variations at the genetic level result in little or no variation at an observable level.

The relationship between phenotype and genotype can be described as

genotype + environment (environment) → phenotype

A phenotype is any property of an organism that is easily observed and is the result of an interaction between the genotype and environment. This relation-ship develops and changes over a long period, during which a species in ques-tion undergoes specialization influenced by changes in the environment. All of this happens over a long span of time; for instance, the development of modern homo sapiens diverged from chimpanzees at least 12 million years ago.

Despite big differences in phenotype, the genetic difference between homo sa-piens and the chimpanzee is less than 2 %.

Evolution in practiceThe polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is an excellent example of how evolution works. It has descended from the brown bear (Ursus arctos) but has developed into a species of its own that lives in Arctic areas of the northern hemisphere. The polar bear is characterized by its white fur, which can sometimes be yellow-ish. With its white fur, the polar bear is well adapted to its environment, as it is difficult for prey animals to distinguish a polar bear from the white landscape. Only its black snout might be visible, and the polar bear has learned to cover it with a paw — perhaps this is why the snout retained its black color.

THE GREY WOLF

It is obvious that black polar bears would not be able to hunt successfully in the snow- and ice-covered Arctic wilderness.

That is why evolution has given these animals a white color

A simplified story describes the process that ended up in the Polar bear. Maybe the brown bear’s territory once extended to the ice’s edge. There the brown bear was forced to feed itself with local animals like seals. The lighter bears succeeded in catching seals while the darker ones failed, slowly starving to death or fail-ing to attract breeding female bears though which to pass on their genes. After thousands of years of selection and adaptation, the bear family became lighter in color and a new species arose, one with fur better adapted in color and structure to the Arctic environment.

To move a polar bear back to Canada’s wilderness would not result in immediate reversion of its color. To “restore” the brown bear would probably take another ten thousand years, and the result would probably be an entirely new species

— one with coloration and behavior more suited to the new environment and climatic conditions.

Evolution automatically strives toward species with coloration, physical size, behavior, and other traits optimal for their environment. In the same way that carnivores’ phenotypes adapt to the environment, their prey does whatever is needed to survive. For a prey animal it is important to have optimal camouflage, so both their color and their scent adapt to their environment.

Photo 1. A Polar bear [ 49]

THE GREY WOLF


As an example, we look at the willow grouse (lagopus lagopus) in Photo 2. It has a white winter plumage that helps it blend into the snowy background, and

a red-brown summer plumage. The willow grouse apparently finds it easier to escape predators by not being seen rather than simply flying away.

The majority of prey animals give birth to their offspring amid other predators, and most often these youngsters are entirely unable to escape or hide. Therefore, evolution has equipped these youngsters with a small advantage: they give off no scent.

Is evolution inconsistentCompared to larger populations of a species, small populations on isolated is-lands have better prospects for developing morphological and genetic differenc-es over time through natural selection and genetic drift.

In 1981, a morphological study of moor frogs was carried out in Gotland, Sweden. The study showed that these moor frogs had longer legs than moor frogs on the Swedish mainland and other parts of Europe. In order to verify the status of Gotland’s moor frogs as a subspecies, genetic and morphological analysis were carried out on moor frogs from Gotland, the Swedish mainland, Finland, Poland and Austria.

The genetic differences among the examined populations were large, and the population in Gotland differed from the other populations. It was also shown that Gotland’s population had less genetic variation within the population than other populations in this study. This indicated that the moor frog population in

Photo 2. Willow grouse in summer plumage

Gotland had gone through a genetic “bottleneck” i.e. that the population had decreased radically in size, thereby losing some of its genetic variation.

Although the moor frogs in Gotland differed genetically from other popula-tions, the morphological differences were minimal. This in turn indicates that there is no precise relationship between genotype, environment and phenotype such that a change in environment or a genotype always influences a phenotype. Of course the same applies vice versa.

Evolution and refinementEvolution refines every population or species towards an optimal phenotype for an environment by varying the genotype over a long period of time. A single maladaptive or environmentally suboptimal trait decreases the possibility for the species or population to survive and pass on genes to the next generation. If we look at the polar bear, we will find that all polar bears are either white or light yellow. The same is observed with the willow grouse in Photo 2. A black willow grouse in the northern winter landscape is an easy target for predators looking for a tasty meal.

Species that do not face a natural struggle for survival do not experience evolutionary pressure to develop in any particular direction. But such species can be artificially bred to develop in a direction deemed desirable by breeders. By euthanizing each puppy that deviates from standards defined for a breed, breeders prevent undesirable traits from propagating.

As undesired genetic variations are not always obvious, this is an everlasting fight

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familaris) has been refined for both appearance and behavior. Today, there are hundreds of breeds, and “designer dogs” are even available on the market. When the human race disappears from the earth, evo-lution will take over, dividing dogs into winners and losers. The winners will merge into strong and wild breed while the weaker breeds will be lost.

Interbreeding and barriers to hybridizationReproductively isolating mechanisms prevent two species whose ranges overlap from interbreeding. These barriers to gene flow are critical to the process of speciation and the evolution of new species. When a population becomes reproductively isolated from other members of its species, the gene pools of the two groups begin to diverge. The differences accumulate over many generations, decreasing the likelihood that members of the two groups will successfully mate


THE GREY WOLF


and produce viable offspring. When no genetic exchange occurs between a pop-ulation and its ancestral species, speciation has occurred.

The geographical ranges of lions and tigers overlap in certain parts of the world, but a hybrid between a lion and a tiger (a liger) has never been found in nature. Lions and tigers do not interbreed in the wild but may do so in an artificial en-vironment such as a circus.

In the wild, barriers to hybridization separate populations from each other and strengthen the effects of mutation and natural selection. These barriers are di-vided into pre - and postzygotic barriers, depending on whether they act before or after fertilization. Most reproductively isolating mechanisms are prezygotic barriers: that is, they simply prevent fertilization between members of different species from occurring.

We recognize several types of prezygotic barriers

1. Temporal isolation is a barrier in which two species reproduce at different times of the day, season, or year.

2. Habitat isolation is a barrier in which two species whose ranges overlap live in different habitats. As a result, potential mates from the two species do not encounter one another.

3. Physical barriers, such as water between islands or mountain chains between valleys, prevent potential mates from two species from encountering each other.

4. Behavioral isolation prevents reproduction between similar species because each group possesses its own characteristic courtship behaviors. Species exhibit behavioral isolation because males of different species have for instance vocalizations that only attract females of their species.

5. Mechanical isolation occurs when the genital organs of different species are incompatible. Even if members of two species court and attempt copula-tion, mating is not successful. In plants, mechanical isolation often occurs in flowering plants pollinated by insects.

6. If the gametes of two species meet, fertilization may fail to occur because of gametic isolation, in which the egg and sperm of different species are in-compatible.

Postzygotic barriers take the form of hybrid inviability, hybrid sterility and hy-brid breakdown, each of which prevents gene flow in the unlikely event that fertilization occurs between two closely related species.

1. In hybrid inviability, the hybrid offspring of two species do not mature normally and usually die in the embryonic stage of development.

2. In hybrid sterility, the hybrid offspring mature normally but are not able to reproduce successfully because the gametes are abnormal in some way. For example, a mule is a sterile hybrid resulting from mating a female horse with a male donkey.

3. Hybrid breakdown happens when two F1 hybrids produce a second hybrid generation. This F2 generation may be unable to produce new generations because of hybrid breakdown. The second-generation hybrids are defective in some way that prevents successful reproduction.

HybridizationHybrids are bred by mating two species, usually from within the same genus. The offspring display traits and characteristics of both parents. The offspring are often sterile; thus hybrid sterility prevents the movement of genes from one species to the other, keeping both species distinct.

While it is possible to predict the genetic composition of a backcross on aver-age, it is not possible to accurately predict the composition of a particular back-crossed individual, due to the random segregation of chromosomes. In a species with two pairs of chromosomes, a twice backcrossed individual would be pre-dicted to contain 12.5% of one species’ genome. However, it may in fact still be a 50% hybrid.

Since the traits of hybrid offspring often vary depending on which species was mother and which was father, it is traditional to use the father’s species as the first half of the portmanteau. For example, a liger is a cross between a male lion and a female tiger, while a tiglion is a cross between a male tiger and a female lion.

Crossbreeding between domesticated and wild animals is problematic. Breed-ers of domesticated species discourage crossbreeding with wild species unless a deliberate decision is made to incorporate a trait of a wild ancestor back into a given breed or strain. Wild populations of animals have evolved naturally over millions of years through a process of natural selection, in contrast to human- controlled selective breeding or artificial selection for desirable traits.


THE GREY WOLF


Normally, these two methods of reproduction operate independently of each other. However, an intermediate form of selective breeding is recognized where-in animals are bred by humans, but with an eye to adaptation to region-specific conditions.

This is what has happened with wolves in several countries.

Sources of hybridization are domesticated species living or becoming feral in areas which also host naturally evolved wild species and subspecies. Other threats are wild species coming into areas inhabited by a domesticated species. Some of these have led to the creation of hybridized animals, crossings between a native species and a domesticated one. This type of crossbreeding is called genetic pollution and has become a major concern with regard to the European wolf population.

The concern with genetic pollution of wild populations is that hybridized ani-mals may not be genetically as strong as naturally evolved wild animals, which can survive without human intervention and have high immunity to natural diseases.

We all share a common interest in preventing genetic pollution of our wolves.

Evolution through hybridizationHybridization influences evolution in a variety of different ways, and there is ev-ery reason to believe that new species may arise by hybridization. The geograph-ical area of divergent populations may be limited, and thus prezygotic barriers may be reinforced. In some cases hybridization makes a positive contribution if there are hybrid genotypes better suited to an environment than their parents. From this point on, evolution decides which of the genotypes survive, because further speciation involves natural selection among hybrids as well.

As natural selection requires genetic variation, genetic variation might be en-hanced by hybridization

For purposes of this discussion, we use “hybridization” to mean the unintention-al crossing of breeds or subspecies producing not a new species but a mongrel. If these mongrels are allowed to propagate into the wild, the original species do not necessarily disappear genetically but may do so phenotypically. [50]

Although wolves and dogs are genetically very close to each other, there are huge differences in behavior. Despite a growing body of literature suggesting that hy-

bridization might be a major source of genetic variation in nature, transferring doglike behavior to wolves is definitely not what we want to take place in our wilderness.

The impact of wild dogs can be studied in countries that allow dogs to run loose.

As wild As wild hybrids of wolves and dogs produce a mosaic of different phe-notypes, unrestrained crossbreeding might provide nature with an opportuni-ty for rapid adaption to changes in the environment. On the other hand, such hybridization influences our ability to maintain native wolf populations in the same habitat with hybrids.

Evolution through human interventionHuman intervention in evolution is of growing concern, as the restoration of species and natural environments seems to be motivated by the same human behavior that produced the initial alterations — a faith in human power that seems to be boundless.

Unlike traits favored by natural selection, traits selected by human intervention might not be positively selected in the wild, thus bypassing the process of natural selection. Human intervention takes place in selective breeding and artificial selection. Most of the intervention focuses on economic gain, though there are some examples of intervention for other reasons, as in the case of the Red Wolf (Canis rufus).

Artificial selection and selective breedingSelective breeding is deliberate selection by a breeder to provide desired genetic traits for new generations.

Artificial selection is the intentional selection of certain traits or combinations of traits over others. An example of artificial selection is selective breeding of do-mesticated animals, which occurs when a human intervenes in order to produce desired traits in the offspring. We breed race horses for speed, dogs for herding, and cattle for increased meat production.

One impact of artificial selection and selective breeding is the loss of genetic diversity, as one allele is favoured and alternatives are lost. As long as negative impacts are restricted to domesticated animals, genetic pollution does not prop-agate into the wild.


THE GREY WOLF


Conservation and habitat restorationRestoration of habitats and species is a process of changing human-impacted nature back to an approximation of its former appearance.

Conservation may involve selective breeding in order to restore species to a habitat. Conservation efforts often require balancing competing human values, such as human liberty and social justice, which may be in direct conflict with conservation objectives.

Conservation can also be a process of reversing evolution to a specified point and initiating a new thread. This requires a high degree of human intervention and management. The process may include euthanising animals and plants in-troduced by humans which now threaten the survival of the original species. As the environment usually remains unchanged, the process is a simple, quick and relatively inexpensive remedy.

A typical effort to reverse and restart evolution was initiated in the 1970’s, when more than 400 canids were captured in Louisiana and Texas. Measurements, vocalization analyses, and skull X-rays were used to distinguish red wolves from coyotes and wolf-coyote hybrids. Of the 400 canids captured, only 43 were be-lieved to be red wolves, and these were sent to a breeding facility. Of the original 43 canids, only 14 were ultimately judged to be pure red wolves, and they be-came the breeding stock for the red wolf captive program. [53]

Photo 3. A red wolf [49]

Now these 14 “red wolves” form the official base for the genotype as well as the phenotype of the red wolf. The rest of the 43 canids were euthanized. Some questions still remain:

1. Who is qualified to define these animals as an endangered species?

2. Are the managers of these endangered species free to choose among the various taxonomic systems and pick one of the many species definitions available?

3. Do we believe that destroyed natural environments and extinct species can be restored by human intervention — should they be restored?

This process is an excellent example of how DNA is used to classify species. There is common agreement on accepting the 14 ancestors’ DNA as being the base material for all future DNA analysis, thus

allowing scientists to decide what the red wolf should look like

PRESERVED TO EXTINCTIONTHE GREY WOLF

THE GREY WOLFSome 60 million years ago there was a species called Miacis, belonging to the group of early carnivores that represent the ancestors of, among others, the wolf. The wolf’s most likely ancestral candidate is Canis lepophagus, a small, narrow-skulled, North American canid, which may also have given rise to the coyote. Later Canis le-pophagus developed into a larger, broader-skulled animal, which was the ancestor of the grey wolf. Among the first wolves that appeared about 4 million years ago was Canis priscolatrans, a small species closely resembling the modern-day red wolf, which colonized Eurasia by crossing the Bering land bridge. The Eurasian Canis priscolatrans population gradually evolved into Canis mosbachensis, which evolved in the direction of Canius lupus.

Wolf subspecies are divided into three categories:

1. The northern wolves: large-bodied, large-brained wolves which inhabit North America, Europe and northern Asia.

2. The Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs): a subspecies of gray wolf living in small areas in Southern Israel, Southern and western Iraq, Oman, Yemen, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

3. The southern wolves: native to the Arabian Peninsula, South Asia. They are characterized by their smaller size, skull and teeth, and a short and thin coat without appreciable underwool. It is likely that dogs and dingoes stem from this group of animals.

Central and East Asian wolves fall between northern and southern wolves in size. Despite morphological differences, it is possible to interbreed northern and southern wolves, something that most likely has been done in Central Europe and the Mediterranean countries.

The domesticated dog was previously classified as a separate species (Canis fa-miliaris) but according to later classification it is a subspecies of the wolf and named Canis lupus familiaris.


THE GREY WOLF

CANIS LUPUSThe grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a species of canids whose living range covers large parts of the world (Figure 1). The wolf is assessed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN, as its relatively widespread range and stable population trend mean that at the global level, the species does not meet or nearly meet any of the criteria for the threatened categories. However, there are local populations classified as “Endangered”. This is the case with both the Scandinavian and Finnish wolf pop-ulations.

The grey wolf is a social animal, living in nuclear families consisting of a mat-ed pair (alpha pair) and their offspring. The wolf is typically an apex predator throughout its range. It feeds primarily on large ungulates (hoofed mammals), though it also eats smaller animals and livestock, and even garbage and carcasses placed in the woods by wolf enthusiasts and photographers.

Canis lupus currently has 39 described subspecies, including the subspecies of the domestic dog and the dingo. The nominate subspecies is the Eurasian wolf, Canis lupus lupus.

In this chapter we will take a look at four of the subspecies, the Polar wolf (Canis lupus arctos), the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), the Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus), and the Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus). These four subspecies have been subject to extensive crossbreeding with wolf-like dogs by wolf enthusiasts in order to accomplish a faster recovery of the European wolf population. This


Figure 1. Canis lupus range map

crossbreeding is also assumed to produce wolf populations adapted for life in urban areas.

The final result of this huge experiment initiated in the 1970’s, is probably a universal European wolf,

Canis lupus multiplex

The Arctic wolfThe Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) is a subspecies of the grey wolf. Its habitat extends from 70° North latitude and higher, covering the Canadian Arctic and the islands, parts of Alaska and northern parts of Greenland. The Arctic wolf has lived in its habitat for at least one million years, and it is the only subspecies of the gray wolf that can still be found throughout its original range — largely because in their natural habitat, they rarely encounter humans.

Arctic wolves live in small family groups: the breeding pair (the alpha pair) and their offspring. Like other wolves, arctic wolves hunt in packs, preying mainly on caribou and muskoxen, but also on arctic hares, seals and lemmings. Due to the scarcity of prey, they roam large areas, up to 2,600 km2, and follow migrating caribou south during the winter.


Photo 4. Canis lupus arctos, The Arctic Wolf. [33]

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Arctic wolves can eat up to 10 kg of meat at one meal and they eat their entire prey, including the bones.

The wolf is relatively large, with males averaging 43–45 kg and females 36–40 kg. Their height is 65 - 80 cm and their length including the tail is up to 150 cm.

Arctic wolves withstand rough arctic weather with the help of their well-insulat-ed fur. They survive in temperatures below zero for years and in arctic darkness that lasts five months of the year.

With its white fur, the Arctic wolf is well adapted to its snow-white habitat. Only the black snout may be visible. As white albino wolves are blind and cannot survive in the wild

other white wolves are hybrids

The Iberian wolfThe Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), also called the Spanish wolf, inhabits northern Portugal and the northwestern parts of Spain. It differs from the grey wolf in its slighter frame and its darker fur. The Iberian wolf exhibits such well-known features of the grey wolf as:

1. white marks on the upper lips,

2. the dark marks on the tail, and

3. the dark strips on its front legs.

The name “signatus” or marked has its source in these features. The Iberian wolf is smaller than the grey wolf. Males weighs up to 40 kilograms, with females usually weighing between 20 and 30 kg, which is half the size of a grey wolf.

The differentiation of the Iberian wolf began at the end of the last ice age, due to the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula, when glacial barriers grew in the Pyrenees from the Gulf of Biscay in the West and the Mediterranean in the East.

Iberian wolves live in small packs and prey on rabbits, roe deer, red deer, ibexes and wild boar. Preying on domestic animals such as sheep and dogs by wolf packs in Spain and southern France is a growing concern.

Overall, the Iberian wolf is expanding to the south and the east. There are re-ports of wolves returning to areas close to Madrid. A male wolf was recently found in Catalonia. This wolf, however, turned out to be an Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus) migrating or deliberately transferred from France.

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Many photographs of wolves in Spain and southern France show how hybrids are taking over, and several doglike features are found on canids described as wolves.

The Italian WolfThe Italian Wolf (Canis lupus italicus) was originally described in 1921 by Jo- seph Altobello as a subspecies of the grey wolf. It was not, however, recognized as a distinct species.

In 2000 a detailed morphological study was carried out. Several features specific to the Canis lupus family were recognized, and the classification created by Al-tobello was adopted.

The Italian wolf is mainly found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, but Italian wolves have also been transferred from Italy to Switzerland and France, where they have been crossed with the grey wolf, the Spanish wolf, and domestic dogs.

The Italian wolf is a medium-sized subspecies of the grey wolf. Its body varies from 100 to 140 cm in length, including the tail, and it weighs from 24 to 40 kilograms. Females are roughly 10 percent smaller than males.

Several studies show that the population is scattered into small distinct groups with habitats from 200 to 400 km2. These wolves hunt at night, preying on wild

Photo 5. Canis lupus italicus, The Italian Wolf. [34]

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boar, roe deer, and red deer. When living close to urban areas, they live on gar-bage, livestock, and domestic animals. Because of the scarcity of large prey, wolf packs in Italy are often smaller, consisting of the mating pair and their recent offspring only.

The Italian wolf population has increased to between 500 and 600 individu-als and is estimated to be growing by 7 percent annually. The greatest apparent threat at present is the large number of wolf/dog hybrids altering the genetic purity of the Italian wolf — the same problem that has been seen over the whole Europe.

Conflicts between humans and wolves principally arise as people’s property is threatened by these wolves and as wolves crossbreed with domestic dogs. [36]

The Eurasian WolfThe Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus), or the Forest wolf, is a subspecies of the grey wolf. It has the largest range among wolf subspecies and it is most com-mon in Europe and Asia. Wolves were exterminated from almost all central and northern European countries during the 19th century and up to WW II, but the Eurasian wolf has recovered in several parts of Europe. This is basically due to Extensive human intervention and hybridization.

The size of the Eurasian wolf varies with its geographical location. Wolves in Russia and Scandinavia are larger and bulkier than those living in southern Eu-rope.

Adults from Russia measure up to 240 cm in length (including the tail), 100 cm in shoulder height, and weigh an average of 50 - 60 kg.

Although some wolves are solitary, the basic unit of a wolf pack is the mated pair (the alpha pair), accompanied by the pair’s offspring. The mated pair produces pups every year, with the offspring typically staying in the pack for one year before dispersing. The average pack consists of a family of 5–11 animals.

Dispersal of the younger members is triggered by the onset of sexual maturity and competition for food within the pack.

Wolf packs do not adopt other wolves into their fold, but typically kill them.

Wolves are highly territorial animals, and the size of their territory varies depending on the amount of prey available. Territory tends to increase in size in areas with low prey populations. In northern Europe, the core of the territory is

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on average 1000 km2. Wolves leave their territory only during severe food short-ages. Wolves defend their territories from other packs through a combination of scent marking, direct attacks, and howling. Territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality: one study on wolf mortality in Minnesota and in Denali National Park and Preserve concluded that 14 – 65 % of wolf deaths were due to predation by other wolves.

The Eurasian wolf is extremely shy by nature, and the probability of coming face-to-face with a single wolf or a wolf pack in the wild is nearly zero. Wolves avoids all types of confrontation with humans, and observations made in Russia show that even minor changes to a wolf pack’s habitat, especially changes close to a food source like carcasses, scares the wolves away. This trait can be used to keep pure wolves away from areas where there is obvious risk of their do-

ing damage. On the other hand this trait is rapidly weakened when wolves are crossed with domestic dogs. The hybrids inherit a more doglike behavior and they will probably cause more damage to livestock than pure wolves would do.

This is why preserving the wolf ’s purity has a great impact on the human - wolf relationship

The Eurasian wolf preys on different animals depending on the location of its habitat. In northern Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway, wolves prey on do-


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Photo 6. Canis lupus lupus, The Eurasian Wolf. [Daniel Mott]


mesticated reindeer herds, while in Spain, they prey almost entirely on livestock, causing huge conflicts with local farmers and sheep breeders. In densely populated areas, as in Italy, wolf populations are forced to subsist on livestock and garbage. Significant food sources in Russia and Eastern Europe are moose, red-deer, roe deer and wild boar. In Scandinavia, moose is their most frequent prey in forested areas, while roe deer predominate in agricultural areas. Wild rein-deer is the primary food source for wolves living in the tundra regions of Siberia, while moose are targeted in the taiga zones. Mouflon and chamois are the most frequent prey in France’s Mercantour National Park.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICSIn this chapter we will examine the grey wolf (Canis lupus) and traits typical to this wolf and its subspecies. Wolves’ behavior follows certain rules, biologically and physically, and the rules do not change when wolves are held in captivity. Any of the doglike traits listed in this chapter may occur independently or to-gether with others.

Although dogs and wolves are genetically very close, they do not voluntarily in-terbreed in the wild. Wolf-dog hybridization occurs randomly when old female wolves mate with male domestic dogs. It is, however, wrong to believe that hy-bridization does not happen. The most common form of hybridization is when hybrid generations F1 to Fn crossbreed with pure wolves; and in order to distinguish pure wolves from hybrids, it is necessary to understand the most common features of pure wolves.

Wolf tracksGrey wolves have huge paws with long, sharp claws. The track of an adult grey wolf is approximately 10 - 15 cm long by 8 to 10 cm wide. However, track size can vary with age and by gender. Tracks smaller than this probably belong to dogs. The distance between the foremost front print to the hindmost back print is 120 to 150 cm for wolves and less than 120 cm for dogs. However, you will notice the difference! Once you stumble on the impressive print of a large male grey wolf, you know it is a wolf !

Wolves’ hind prints fall directly in line with their front prints. Because a wolf has a narrower chest than a dog, its front and hind prints line up. A dog leaves

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front prints that do not align. Wolves’ overall trail forms a straight line while the trail of dogs tends to meander. Since dogs have proportionally wider chests than wolves, the width of a dog’s stride is greater, especially for dogs with tracks as large as a wolf. For the same reason, dogs place their hind foot beside their front, but

wolves place their hind foot on the same line as the front foot.

When a wolf pack is on the move, it prefers a solid surface. In deep snow, wolves walk in a straight line, each one putting its feet in the tracks of the one ahead. This habit makes it difficult to count the number of wolves in a pack unless the pack does not encounter roads or solid surfaces, where the line formation is abandoned. The formation is also abandoned when the pack stops for any rea-son. It has been shown that wolves change their direction when the pack enters another type of landscape or a road.

Photo 7 shows a wolf print, and attention should be paid to how the two middle claws point straight forward. We also see how the track of a wolf pack follows an almost straight line and how the wolves put their paws in the track of the previous wolf.

Wolves usually travel at a loping pace, placing their paws one directly in front of the other, as can be seen in Photo 13. This gait can be maintained for hours at a pace of 8–9 km/hr, allowing the wolves to cover great distances.

A wolf marks its territory by urination. Only the mating pair is allowed to raise its leg, while other male pack members urinate as females do. If bloody marks are found from more than one wolf, the pack probably contains hybrids or dogs, since only the alpha female in a wolf pack is allowed to mate or be in estrus. Although it is possible for a young female wolf to come into heat and experience estral bleeding in her first winter, the alpha pair’s dominance means that you will not observe a female wolf mating during her first winter.


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Photo 7. Wolf tracks. [40]


The shape of the bodyThe square build body of a Finnish spitz is shown in Photo 10. The length of the body is the same or slightly shorter than the height of the withers. The length

of the body is measured from the shoulder or forechest in front of the withers to the rump. This feature should be compared to the wolves in Photo 9, where the length of the body is significantly greater than the height. This can also be observed in Photo 8, which shows a wolf passing an infrared game camera at

Photo 8. A hybrid passing a game camera.

Photo 9. Grey wolves.

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night. The “wolf ” in this photo, however, is a hybrid because of its long tail and the slope at the tip of the tail.

When comparing the different body structures in photos 9 and 10, another dif-ference is seen between hybrids or dogs and wolves. The body shape between the two red lines in Photo 9 is almost straight, while the belly of the Finnish spitz in Photo 10 twists upwards. Also the upper thigh is wider on wolves than on dogs. There is a rule of thumb which states that

A male wolf ’s penis is always hidden behind the upper thigh!

There is another important difference between wolves and hybrids or dogs. If you look at the wolves in Photos 9, 12 and 13, you notice that wolves always keep their head under the virtual line starting from the back and continuing over the shoulders. Only when wolves watch distant objects or prey do they raise their head — but even then, they prefer to lower their hindquarters or raise their front legs on stone or a stub.

Wolflike shapes are also found on the canids in Photo 9. These animals are prob-ably wolves, but we will later show that recognizing doglike features in “pure wolves” can be tricky. As in all learning processes, practice is needed to distin-guish wolves from hybrids. Therefore, studying the large variety of “wolf pic-tures” available on the internet, together with advice from this booklet, gives a brief introduction to the current “pure-wolf potpourri.”

Wolves’ hind legs have a significant cow-hock look when standing still. Cow hock means the wolves’ hocks turn in, making the toes point outwards.


Photo 10. A finnish spitz

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The size of a wolfWolves increase exponentially in size the further they are from the equator. A northern grey wolf is an impressive canid. As we already noted regarding tracks, you will know a grey wolf if you ever meet one in the wild. Large wolves killed in Finland tipped the scale at 70 kg, and the average weight of a wolf is 45 - 60 kg for males and 30 - 40 kg for females. The length of an adult male grey wolf including the tail is between 200 and 250 cm.

Domestic dogs do not usually reach these sizes. The weight of a German shepherd is at most 40 kg, which corresponds to a female wolf. However, the wolf population is changing rapidly as our wilderness becomes jam-packed with hy-brids looking more like domestic dogs. These hybrids display both a more dog-like behavior and a more doglike size.

Photo 11 shows a grey wolf and it gives a you a sense of its true size.

Photo 11. A grey wolf

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A wolf is a huge animal and definitely not a pet.

The fur and colorationThe grey wolf in Photo 12 has a dense and fluffy coat with short underfur and long guard hairs. The long guard hairs work like an umbrella, shedding and re-

pelling moisture like a raincoat. The underfur and some of the guard hairs are shed in the spring to grow back again in the autumn.

The longest hair occurs on the back, particularly on the front quarters and the neck. Especially long hair is found on the shoulders, and the hair almost forms a crest on the upper part of the neck. Hair length on the middle of the back is between 60–70 mm. The length of the guard hairs on the shoulders can reach up to 110–130 mm. The hair on the cheeks is elongated and forms tufts, and the ears are covered with short hair.

A wolf ’s fur provides better insulation than a dog’s and it does not collect ice when warm breath condenses on it. The wolf ’s winter fur is highly resistant to cold — northern wolves can rest comfortably in open areas at −40° C (or F) by placing their muzzles between the hind legs and covering their faces with their tail.


Photo 12. The color settings of a grey wolf

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The wolf in Photo 12 shows typical coloration for European grey wolves. The coat color is grey on the back, changing to ochre or brown and then to light grey or white at the belly. Even though wolves generally appear grey, their coat contains many colors. White, black, gray, and brown hairs are intermingled, with darker fur usually predominating along the center of the back and tail. The wolf ’s underside, legs and ears are often tawny or light grey.

Despite variations in color, the wolf has a single overall pattern of coloration that is distinct to the species. This pattern does not change, though individuals may vary. The wolf in Photo 13 exhibits darker coloration than the one in Photo12, although the pattern remains the same. We find the white or light ochre “bib” on the throat that is typical of wolves. They have dark strips on the front legs and a black tip on the tail. Wolves’ cheeks are light grey or white, while the upper side of the muzzle is darker grey. The light grey or white area that continues to the “bib” never extends above the eyes the way it does on a husky.

White wolves does not exist, as blind albino wolves cannot survive in the wild. The only pure white wolves are arctic wolves (Canis lupus arctos). Nor are there any black wolves. Genetic research at the Stanford University School of Med-icine and the University of California, Los Angeles, revealed that wolves with black pelts have obtained this feature through wolfdog hybridization.

Sightings of black wolves have also been reported in Europe, although black wolves are considered rare in this part of the world. There is an incident doc-

Photo 13. The darker color setting of a grey wolf [Daniel Mott]

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umented in Sweden in which five black wolves were killed in 1801. These wolves were completely black and were larger than the grey wolf. There are also reports stating that black wolves were less aggressive than ordinary wolves and inter- bred with dogs more readily.

Some of this evidence suggests that the black wolves in Europe have inherited some traits from dogs.

As with most wild animals, the color of the wolf ’s fur adapts to its habitat, caus-ing a wolf to “disappear” into the landscape. Wolves that live in dark forests often have darker fur, and for instance the Italian and the Spanish wolves have adapted to the Mediterranean wilderness.

The tailAn important difference between wolflike dogs and real wolves is the tail. Wolf- like dogs have more or less curled tails. When relaxed, the tail drops in a nearly straight line, bending slightly backwards at the tip. A wolf ’s tails is long and bushy and is usually carried down or straight out, never curled. The length of the tail is 2/3 of the distance from the tail’s base to the ground. Wolflike dogs with a straight and relaxed tail usually exhibit tail lengths of 3/4 or more. When wolves walk, their tails do not curl up over their backs the way dogs’ tails do. Wolves’ tails are always straight. Even dog breeds that have straighter tails have a slight curl on the tail when they run, walk, or trot.

A wolf does not raise its tail, with the exception of the alpha male. When raised, a wolf ’s tail, tail is not curled like a dog’s but is used to show different emotions; and can be held in a variety of positions, from straight out in a horizontal posi-tion to straight up in a vertical one or anything in between. Photo 14 shows the tails of five different hybrids. Compared to wolves’ tails, they are are too long, and the three rightmost tails are more or less curled backwards.


Photo 14. The tails of some dogs and hybrids

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Wolves’ tails usually have a black tail tip. A black tip is also found on some wolf-like domestic dogs. Wolves have a caudal mark or a dark spot positioned approx-imately 7 - 10 cm from the base of the tail. The size and the shape of the spot varies. It can be found on darker wolves as well, though it is harder to distinguish. It is, however, visible on arctic wolves. Some pups may have a few white or black stiff hairs poking out of this area.

Facial expressionThe facial expression of a wolf comprises the eyes, muzzle, and above all, emo-tions connected to human - canid interaction. Think for a moment about all the information a person is able to convey with just a facial expression. Facial ex-pressions are among the most universal forms of body language used in human interaction. Different expressions convey anger, surprise, confusion, desire, fear, sadness, and happiness in a similar way throughout the world. A smile can indi-cate approval or happiness, while a frown can signal disapproval or unhappiness.

During the process of its domestication, the dog has developed a limited ability to read and express feelings in such a way that its owner at least believes the dog is able to express its will using facial communication. However, this trait owes to domestication rather than any shared biological capability of canids. Humans may be able to interpret some of an animal’s facial expressions, but no wild ani-mal ever understands the difference between a smile and a frown.

In spite of this, wolves communicate with each other using body language such as eye contact, facial expressions, posture, and tail positions, all of which can have specific meanings.

For humans, the face of a wild animal is completely empty

Photo 15. Facial expressions of dogs and wolves

Let us examine the “faces” in Photo 15. Observe the canid in 15.2. This is the cover page wolf from the Finnish Hunters Association’s magazine of Spring 2013. It shows a “wolf ” with its head at a slant, trying to attract the reader, using human-like “facial communication”.

The intent with this picture was to garner sympathy for the wolf — not to show readers what a wolf really looks like or what kind of behavior to expect when encountering a wolf in the wild. This is also the wolf that all

young wolf lovers hope to meet in nature: a beloved cousin of our domestic dog

The line-up includes two hybrids (15.1 and 15.4) and a purebred wolf (15.3). The differences are obvious — and remember, the wolf ’s head is 30 % larger!

First, take a look at the eyes. Wolves are usually born with deep blue eyes that lighten and then gradually fade into the adult eye color over the next six to ten weeks. A wolf ’s eyes are usually golden yellow and shine greenish-orange at night. Other colors indicate wolfdog interbreeding in earlier generations. As huskies have blue eyes, a blue-eyed wolf is likely to be a wolf-husky hybrid.

Another remarkable difference between wolves’ and dogs’ eyes is their shape. Wolves have highly slanted, almond-shaped eyes with heavy dark lining, while dogs’ and hybrids’ eyes are round. These differences are evident in Photos 15 and 16.

HeadThe grey wolf ’s head is large and heavy, with strong jaws and a long, sharp snout. The teeth are heavy and large, well adapted for crushing bone. The wolf has a crushing pressure of up to 1040 N/cm2 compared to a German shepherd, which has only 520 N/cm2. This force is sufficient to break most bones.


Photo 16. Canid profiles

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The head has a broad face, which often has a broader appearance due to the ruff of fur below its ears. It differs from the domestic dog’s head in shape, width, height and length. It is approximately 30 % larger than the head of a large do-mestic dog. The wolf ’s head is wedge-shaped, with a wide brain pan and a nar-row muzzle.

A dog’s head is pear-shaped, as we will see when we analyze some skulls. The muzzle of a wolf ’s skull is longer than the brain pan, while the proportion is the opposite in most dogs. Wolflike dogs have a relatively short muzzle that varies in length depending on the breed.

Pictures taken of wolves and dogs usually show the face, but depth perception in a two-dimensional photograph is limited. In Photo 15 we notice that canids 15.2 and 15.4 seem have a short doglike muzzle, while the canid in 15.1 has a longer muzzle and a pear-shaped head typical of a German shepherd. Photo 15.3 shows the face of a wolf.

Looking at the profiles of different canids in Photo 16, we notice that the wolf has a lower forehead, compared to its muzzle, than most of the dogs. A wolf ’s forehead and muzzle also point in the same direction, while there is often a small but noticeable angle between a dog’s forehead and its muzzle. It should not be difficult to recognize the wolf among the canids in Photo 16.

The wolf has lighter or white upper lips and a throat with darker tones on the underside of the muzzle.

EarsWhen studying wolves and possible hybrids at a distance, the silhouette (including the ears) yields much information about the wolf ’s purity. Photo 17 shows the ears of a number of canids, of which the leftmost is a wolf while the others are different types of hybrids.

A wolf ’s ears erect at an age of 3 - 4 weeks, after which they retain this original shape. The ears are relatively short, with all the fur inside the ears. They are triangle-shaped and rounded across the top; they are also much broader and shorter than a coyote’s or fox’s ears. Wolves tend to have shorter and darker fur on the backside of the ear, with lighter and somewhat longer fur along the inside. Larger ears with less fur belong to hybrids and dogs.

A running wolf holds its head slightly low and cocked to one side, directing one ear forward and the other back. This posture allows the wolf to make continual use of its exceptional hearing.

The upper limit of a wolf ’s hearing is 80 kHz compared to 20 kHz in humans. It is claimed that a wolf can hear up to 10 km away in forest and 15 km in open areas. Even when wolves sleep, their ears stand straight up so that they can catch sounds made by other animals at all times. This helps the wolf catch prey and lets it know when danger is near.

Front legsAs already mentioned regarding the Iberian wolf, all wolves have a dark strip on their front legs. This strip is not found on pure domestic dogs but may be visible on hybrids. The width and the black tinge of the strip varies. Photo 18 shows the front legs of a wolf on the left and the leg of a hybrid on the right. Despite the darker coloration of this hybrid, the black strip is clearly visible. In 1965, Erkki Pulliainen, PhD, proved in his doctoral thesis that the North European wolves always have this black strip.

ClawsThe claws of a wolf reveal much about its heritage. A wolf always has black claws, and there are no exceptions to this rule. Any other color found on any claw indi-cates dog heritage. Even a light strip on a single claw is enough! Photo 19 shows the black claws of a wolf. Notice also the size of the paw.

Photo 18. Black strips on front legs Photo 19. The claws of a wolf

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Photo 17. The ears of different canids


A wolf ’s claws are thicker, stronger and larger than the claws of domestic dogs. The wolf uses its claws to rip open preys’ tough hides during hunting and eating, while domestic dogs use their claws to scratch at the door.

Remember: wolves survive by their nails and their teeth!

SkeletonSkeletal structure exemplifies some of what we have already said about the wolf. Figure 2 shows the skeleton of a wolf on the right and that of an average do-mestic dog on the left. After putting some flesh on the bones, the differences are striking. The wolf ’s tail points down while the dog’s tail, when relaxed, has a minor curvature at the tip. Depending on the breed of the dog, the amount of curvature varies.

The shape and size of the chest and the ribs show how wolves have more space in their belly than domestic dogs. This is a result of evolution, as wolves may have to live several days without food and thus need a greater capacity than dogs usually have.

A wolf carries its head at the same level as its back, raising it only on alert.

CraniumThe cranium is the most important part of a canid’s skeleton showing differences between wolves and dogs. In 1983 the Estonian researcher Mati Kaal published a detailed description of the cranial differences between wolves and dogs. Later, in

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Figure 2. The skeletons of a dog and a wolf

the 1990’s, this finding was documented and verified by the wolf researcher Mai-ja-Leena Wallén at Ilomantsi Game Research Center in Finland. She performed the verification by comparing craniums from pure wolves, German Shepherds, Carelian bear dogs, and a Swedish Jämthund. The description below is based on these two researchers’ work.

1. The wolf ’s cranium is larger than the dog’s cranium, and the facial part is longer than the brain part due to the wedge-shaped head (D1).

2. The sagittal crest is a ridge of bone running lengthwise along the midline of the top of the skull (D3), and the presence of this bone indicates exception-ally strong jaw muscles. In other words, a strong sagittal crest is typical of wolves. The wedge-shaped profile of the wolf skull (D1) is also typical. The

wolves’ zygomatic arches are strong [Figure 6], as these bones serve as areas of attachment for the powerful jaw muscles.

3. The wolf ’s sphenoid bone is shown in A4. It differs from the straight sphenoid bone of dogs.

4. The rear part of the wolves’ vomer is saw-shaped, while it is straight in dogs (A1).


Figure 3. A cranium study

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5. In dogs, the apertures behind the petrous bones (E1) are oval or drop-shaped, while in wolves the apertures are elongated (E1, E2). The wolves’ petrous bones are significantly larger than those of dogs.

6. Wolves’ mastoid foramens at C2 och C3 (foramen supramastoideum) are vis-ible, while dogs’ mastoid apertures are almost invisible.

7. Wolves have a visible groove behind the sagittal crest (fossa nuchalis medi-ana), which is missing on dogs (C1). A better view of this groove is found in Figure 4 (A2).

8. The distance between the two canine teeth of the lower jaw on wolves is twice the thickness of one tooth (B).

A comparison of two skullsWe continue with the two skulls in Figure 4, which show two potential wolves. These two skulls were photographed in May of 2013, and this analysis gives a good picture of the current level of morphological knowledge in Europe.

Skull A belonged to a pure grey wolf shot in Savukoski, Finland. Skull B be-longed to a wolf shot in Nedervetil, Finland in 2011. Wolf specialists have inter-preted DNA from wolf B and arrived at the conclusion that it was a pure grey wolf, even though it was a relatively small and doglike male.

Figure 4. A wolf and a hybrid

Based upon studies carried out by M-L Wallén & M. Kaal, it is easily shown that wolf B was most probably a pure grey hybrid.

The apertures oramen supramastoideum are clearly visible on wolf A (A1), but are not found on the wolf B (B1). We also see the groove fossa nuchalis mediana behind the sagittal crest (A2), which is missing on wolf B (B2). With this simple analysis, and knowing that the “wolf ” weighed less than 30 kg, it is most likely that the canid was a dog or a hybrid. Note that the real size of skull B is 1/2 of skull A. On the other hand, the petrous bones of wolf B are large, indicating that this was not a pure dog.

Three skulls, one wolfFigure 5 is a juxtaposition of three skulls, the first of which is a dog skull down-loaded from the Internet [2]. The second skull is that of a hybrid scanned with a 3D program. The third is skull A from Figure 4. Because I do not have all details of the first two skulls, we must base our analysis on the visible facts only.

When we compare these three skulls as superimposed in Figure 5, we see that the sagittal crest of the hybrid is remarkably large. This indicates that the animal contains many genes from pure wolves. Despite this observation, the length and shape of the muzzle indicate it is a hybrid. One doglike feature is the slope of the muzzle.

Figure 6 shows another view of the skulls from Figure 5. Now we find that the wolf in the middle is most likely a hybrid. It has a large sagittal crest, strong zygomatic arches, and a wedge-shaped head. However, the muzzle is too short.

It is not easy to draw conclusions based upon scanned skulls and bones. We do not have access to some minor details as well as the lower jaws, where several features and differences could be found.


Figure 5. Profiles of skulls

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From this analysis we see what kind of tools are available. We cannot, however, answer the question about wolves and hybrids by examining photographs. What we want to show is is the immense difficulty of preserving the grey wolf. Our experts cannot detect any differences between wolves and dogs — or maybe they don’t want to. Other experts interbreed subspecies of Canis lupus in order to create customized hybrids to live under the protected status of the grey wolf.

The average European believes that all the doglike canids roaming our woods and mountains are small, sweet wolves. One Finnish wolf specialist, Erkki Pul-liainen, PhD, expressed his opinion on hybrids by stating that they will change the natural behavior of the wolf population. Emeritus Professor Valerius Geist of Canada, in turn, has said that the fastest way to exterminate the grey wolf is to allow it to crossbreed with dogs and hybrids.

Several observations support the theory that hybridization has already changed the behavior of wolf packs in northern Europe and USA.

Wolf pups and dogsI asked Erik S Nyholm, PhD, how wolf pups differ from dog pups. He answered me by saying that if you take a wolf pup and place it on your floor, it immediately escapes to the darkest corner of the room or under a chair.

That’s how a pure wolf reacts!

What he said was that a pure wolf is extremely shy from birth to death and so it avoids direct contact with humans. A hybrid or a dog does not react to people in this way. He also reminded me that a wolf pup starts looking like an adult wolf


Figure 6. Another view

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at the age of 4 months. The only part that might grow faster would be the paws. The paws of wolf pups are significantly larger than the paws of dog pups.

Wolf pups follow certain rules, biologically and physically, and captivity does not change the rules. Some of these are:

1. Their paw pads are always solid and black. Any variation in the color indi-cates dog genes!

2. Even if lighter pads turn darker with time, they still show dog heritage!

3. A wolf pup is not born with any color other than black on its nose!

4. A wolf pup will not have white socks or other large markings on its fur. If you see pups that are stated to be pure wolves that have any of the disquali-fying traits just mentioned when young, they are simply not pure wolves but have dog genes.

A wolf pup has clear blue eyes and white claws. The eyes turn golden or yellow within 7 - 8 weeks and the white claws turn to black before the age of 10 weeks.


Photo 21. A hybrid pup [U.P. Kinnunen]

Photo 20. How the color of the eyes changes [Gisela Müller]

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Photo 20 shows a hybrid pup and we notice how the eyes change color at 7 - 8 weeks. These pictures are taken on Jun 17. and July 2. The process is similar in real wolves, and some of the above characteristics holds for wolf pups, too.

Photo 21 was taken by U-P Kinnunen in 1997 in Ilomantsi, Finland. I analyzed this picture together with the photograph, and we came to the simple conclusion that this pup is a hybrid. The brown eyes, the large ears, and the shape of the muzzle all point towards dog heritage, although this pup is one of a pack of six “wolves”.

Sense of smellThe wolf ’s olfactory sense is about 100 times better than a human’s and 12 times better than a domestic dog’s. Its nose has about five times more surface area than a human’s nose, and the area receptive to smell is 14 times. It uses the sense of smell to find prey and has the ability to smell prey before it can see it. The wolf is also able to sense the presence of an animal several days after it has gone!

Upon meeting another wolf, wolves sniff each other’s muzzle, anus, and tail to ensure that they know each other. Wolves also use urination to mark their ter-ritories so that intruding wolves know if they are crossing into another pack’s territory.

SightThe wolf ’s vision is comparable to that of a human. It is believed that wolves cannot distinguish objects clearly beyond 70 to 100 meters. Just how clearly a wolf sees when looking directly at an object is, of course, impossible to know. But it seems evident that beyond a short distance, their vision must be somewhat blurred. Nevertheless wolves can see shapes and especially movement over long distances, and their peripheral vision is extremely keen. They are able to detect even the slightest movements of very small animals, such as mosquitos, and to do so at a distance of several meters. They also detect the movement of larger animals at considerable longer distances. It is unlikely that wolves perceive the various hues of the spectrum as humans see them, because the physical makeup of the eye is different. Wolves’ night vision is many times better than humans’.

TerritoryA wolf ’s territory is defined as the area it will defend against other wolves. Wolves are rarely friendly towards other wolves unfamiliar to them, and territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality: one study on wolf mortality

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in Minnesota and in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve concluded that 14 – 65 % of wolf deaths were due to predation by other wolves.

A wolf pack’s territory will contain most of its hunting and travelling areas. Wolf packs are often spaced out enough so that their territories do not overlap significantly.

A variety of factors determines the size of a wolf pack’s territory, which can vary greatly from about 20 km2 / pack to 1500 km2 / pack. Wolves live within small, well-defined territories when prey animals is abundant, and their territories grow larger where prey is less common.

Wolves use many methods to define their territories. In territories that are well defined, the most important method wolves use to mark out their territory is scent marking. Wolves use urine to mark out their territory, and they can differentiate the odor of a packmate’s urine from a foreign wolf ’s urine. When a pack enters a territory that has been marked by other wolves, the pack will either leave or risk a fight to the death.

Lone wolves do not have territories and often travel amazing distances in search of a mate.


WOLVES AND HUMAN INTERACTION

Well-fed wild and free-ranging wolves pose little or no threat to human safety in areas where they are hunted or have very little contact with humans. An extreme-ly shy animal, the wolf avoids direct contact with humans. Research in the former Soviet union has shown that although researchers entering a wolf territory were subject to the wolves’ interest, the wolves did not try to approach the researchers’ camps, preferring instead to observe them from a safe distance.

Wolves exhibit the same behavior when approaching carcasses in the wilderness. It may take weeks of observation before they make cautious approaches and eat from the carcass. Any changes in the surrounding environment, such as a new bag hanging on a branch, causes the wolves to retreat from the carcass and avoid it for weeks or even months. If they detect the scent of humans, they will proba-bly abandon the carcass altogether.

Wolves live in a hard cage of interlocking instincts and imprint-like learning. They act on the dictates of those instincts, and they will not attack potential prey that does not match what they have learned. The greater the discrepancy in appearance, sound, or scent of potential new prey compared to the prey that wolves learned in their youth, the greater is their resistance to seeing it as po-tential prey.

To consider humans as potential prey requires dismantling what a wolf has learned and then a slow process of re-learning. It cannot be emphasized enough that habituation is but a stepping-stone towards fully exploring humans as prey. This happens regardless of the food situation in their territory. Once wolves have accepted humans as prey, reversing the process is neither quick nor easy. [Vale-rius Geist]

There are documented incidents in the former Soviet Union showing how imprint-like is wolves’ learning. In one incident, wolves drove livestock from a col-lective farm through their enclosure and into the woods. The wolves did not treat livestock wandering free in the forest as potential prey.

This kind of cautious behavior is not found in domestic dogs

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WOLVES AND DOGSThe domestication of dogs has brought about changes in their behavior, and so wolves differ significantly from domestic dogs in behavior as well as appearance. Dogs and wolves have different lifestyles requiring different abilities and skills. The skills and behaviors a wolf needs in order to find food, to breed, and to survive differ from those a pet dog needs when living in a human home. As a result, dogs have learned to depend on humans, while wolves are on their own. This means in part that dogs are more predisposed than wolves to form social attachments to people.

What about the “intelligence” or cognitive capacities of dogs and wolves? Dogs are sometimes labeled as less intelligent than wolves, but for everything that wolves do better than dogs, there are other things that dogs do better than wolves.

Their differences don’t make dogs and wolves more or less intelligent than each other, but simply

reflect the fact that they have followed a different evolutionary path.

We also require different things of dogs than nature demands of wolves. Through domestication we have selected dogs to be attuned to our behavior and to work with us. As a result dogs are much less neophobic, meaning that they are not afraid of new or unfamiliar things and people they encounter.

Dogs are much more tractable than tame wolves, and in general they are much more responsive than wolves to coercive training techniques involving fear, aversive stimuli, and force. Dogs also tend to be poorer than wolves at obser-vational learning, while they are more responsive to instrumental conditioning.

When a pack of feral dogs is scavenging off a dead ungulate, the dominant al-pha dog does not force other members to wait their turn; the entire pack is free to join in. Nor do feral dog packs consist exclusively of members of the same family.

Some studies of feral dogs show that they are not good at hunting and killing large prey. This inability to hunt a large amount of food is one of the reasons for feral dog populations’ lack of success at surviving in the wilderness.

An interesting study was carried out by Adam Miklosi et al, where the research-ers compared communicative abilities of dogs and wolves that were socialized

to humans at comparable levels. The first study demonstrated that socialized wolves were able to locate hidden food indicated by touching and, to some extent, pointing cues provided by a familiar human supervisor; but their performance remained inferior to that of dogs. The second study found that after undergoing training to solve a simple task of manipulation, dogs faced with an insoluble version of the same problem look or gaze at a human, while socialized wolves do not. Based on these observations, researchers suggested that a key difference be-tween dog and wolf behavior is the dogs’ ability to look at the human’s face. Since looking has an important function in inititing and maintaining communicative interaction in human communication systems, we suppose that by positive feed-back processes (both evolutionary and ontogenetically), the readiness of dogs to look at the human face has led to complex forms of dog-human communication that cannot be achieved in wolves even after extended socialization. Let us look at these experiments more closely.

Study 1Here the researchers investigated how four socialized wolves perform in a two- way object choice task, when the location of hidden food was indicated by ges-tures from a supervisor standing between two containers that were1,5 m apart. Performance was measured for three different gestural cues: distant pointing (50 cm from the object), proximal pointing (5-10 cm from the object), and touching the object physically. Statistical analysis showed that performance was no better than chance for “distal pointing” gestures at the beginning of the tests, but one wolf improved its performance and by the end of the experiment was correct in 80% of the trials. Further, in the case of “touching,” all individuals performed significantly better than chance. Although these results indicate that “dog-like” upbringing of young wolves teaches them to interpret some human gestures in-dicate the location of food, their performance was generally worse than that of the dogs in a comparable testing situation. Correct performance in these situa-tions can be explained by simple associative learning; that is, wolves had many opportunities to learn that the human hand is associated with the presence of food. To be able to utilize the “distal pointing” gesture, the subjects needed to look not only at the containers, but also at the supervisor’s upper body.

Study 2This study consisted of two behavioral tests (“bin-opening” and “rope-pulling”) in which gazing and looking behavior were tested. Both dogs and socialized wolves were given the opportunity to learn how to solve a problem in six re-

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peated trials over a period of approximately 10 minutes. After the animals had mastered the task — that is, they opened a bin containing meat or pulled meat out of a cage using a rope attached to the meat — the supervisor presented the animals with the same problem. But this time the bin was closed mechanically. The direction, duration, and latency of looking were recorded. There was no difference in how quickly dogs and wolves could obtain the food during the training phase, but the mean latency for getting the reward decreased over the six trials in both species. This suggests that both dogs and socialized wolves were equally motivated to solve the task and had all the abilities and physical means to achieve their goal.

However, during the blocked test trial, in both tasks dogs looked back earlier and spent more time gazing at the human than the socialized wolves did, and their first look at the human supervisor took place significantly earlier than it did with wolves.

Only two out of seven wolves looked in the direction of the human at all during the blocked trial, while this ratio was the inverse with dogs.

The observations in both tasks suggest that after facing difficulty getting the food in the insoluble blocked trials, dogs initiated communicative face or eye contact with the human earlier and maintained it for longer periods of time compared to the socialized wolves. Since there were no differences in motiva-tion to obtain the food, dogs were more likely to interrupt their own efforts to obtain the reward. Based on these two studies, we suggest that the failure of the socialized wolves to perform well in the pointing trials of the choice task can be attributed to their decreased willingness to look at the human.

Looking at humans seems to be a genetic predisposition in dogs, but it was dif-ficult to induce this behavior in wolves even after intensive socialization. The researchers assume that one of the first steps in the domestication of the dog was the selection for “human-like” communicative behaviors. Since eye or face contact is understood as initiation and maintenance of a human-communica-tive interaction, they surmise that the corresponding behavior in dogs provides the foundation on which the complex communicative interactions between man and dog have developed during domestication.

One important conclusion of the above experiment is that wolves never express wishes, love, or sympathy when they look humans in their eye. They only make a rapid assessment of whether

to control the situation, to escape, or to eat.

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Hazardous interpretationsMisinterpretation of human-wolf relationship has led to the most horrible ex-periments, one of which was the project “close encounters with wolves” carried out at the Kolmården Zoo in Sweden. Here children were given the opportunity to enter the wolf enclosure and pet the wolves. Despite some incidents of wolves beginning to make hesitant and playful attacks on children, biting and tearing their clothing, the experiment was allowed to continue.

The experiment was viewed by several wolf specialists as a form of modern-day Russian roulette. It ended in tragedy when the wolves attacked a female staff member, killing and eating her. The official posture was that “something went wrong, this is not the normal behavior of our wolves. They love our staff !”

Several specialists, however, say that this was precisely normal behavior

Taming wolvesEfforts to tame wolves are generally bound to fail. Some of the strongest evidence is that wolves are not seen in circuses like bears, tigers, lions and seals. A wolf may accept a human, but it does not accept a master-slave relationship.

Though wolves are trainable, they lack the degree of tractability seen in dogs. Generally, far more work is required to obtain a given degree of reliability. Even then, once a certain behavior has been repeated several times, wolves may get bored and ignore subsequent commands. This is a behavior found in many wolf-dogs.

Photo 22. Russian roulette at the Kolmården Zoo

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German wolf biologist Erik Zimen once attempted to form a dogsled team com-posed entirely of wolves. The attempt ended in complete failure, as the wolves ignored most commands and were far more prone to fighting than sled dogs.

Wolves and hybrids have also been used as experimental attack dogs, in an at-tempt to breed animals capable of tracking guerrillas. The experiment was dis-continued due to the wolves’ inability to follow even basic commands.

Keeping wolves in standard enclosures is difficult, as they learn by observation and quickly discover how to open latches by simply watching their handlers do so. Once they learn how to escape, it becomes nearly impossible to keep them in an enclosure.

In contrast to dogs, which usually accept strangers throughout their lives, treat- ing them almost as an extension of their pack, wolves as they age become in-creasingly intolerant of strangers from outside their immediate pack.

In summary, there are several significant differences between wolves and dogs. Crossbreeding them creates hybrids with randomly inherited features from both species. Wolf and dog hybrids kept as pets do not have any impact on the wolf population. Hybridization in the wild, however, creates wolves with more dog-like but less predictable behaviors.

What is worse, this process exterminates the grey wolf

Is the wolf dangerous to humans?Research carried out by Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at The University of Calgary, Canada, indicates that under certain cir-cumstances, wolves explore humans as alternative prey even when there is no shortage of food — if they continually come into close contact with humans and habituate to them. It cannot be emphasized enough that habituation is but a stepping-stone towards fully exploring humans as prey, writes Geist. Habitu-ated wolves will eventually attack, as the next step in exploration, in making the unknown known.

This is a principle of exploratory behavior applicable not only to wolves but to all animals.

Valerius Geist observed the behavior of two wolf packs and found a similar seven-stage pattern of habituation pattern as prey declined and humans were near.

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1. Within the pack’s territory, prey becomes scarce. This is not only due to increased predation on native prey animals but also to mass evacuation of home range by prey. Wolves increasingly visit garbage dumps at night.

2. Wolves in search of food begin to approach human habitations at night.Their presence is announced by loud and frequent barking of farm dogs — wolves do not bark.

3. The wolves appear in daylight and observe people at a distance as the hu-mans carry out their daily chores.

4. The wolves attack small-bodied livestock and pets close to buildings, even in daylight. They preferentially pick on dogs, following them right up to the verandas of homes. People out with dogs find themselves defending their dogs against wolves.

5. The wolves explore large livestock, leading to docked tails and slit ears and hocks. Livestock may bolt through fences running for safety. Wolves be-come more brazen. Cattle or horses may be killed close to houses and barns. Wolves may follow riders and surround them. They may mount verandas and look into windows.

6. Wolves turn their attention to people and approach them, initially merely examining them closely. They may make hesitant, almost playful attacks, biting and tearing clothing, nipping at limbs and torso. They withdraw when confronted.

7. Wolves attack people. These initial attacks are clumsy, as the wolves have not yet learned how to take down the new prey efficiently. Persons attacked can often escape because of the clumsiness of the attacks. A mature, courageous man may beat off or strangle one attacking wolf. However, against a wolf pack there is no defense.

The attack may be motivated less by predation than by an instinct to explore in more detail, unmotivated by hunger, Geist writes.

In the events at Kolmården Zoo in Sweden, we recognize Stage 6, as the wolves started biting and tearing clothes of small children visiting the wolf enclosure, and Stage 7, when they attacked the staff. There are video recordings of the in-cident in Kolmården Zoo where the wolves exhibited a behavior described in Stage 6.


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Wolves can be virtually harmless if there are enough trappers killing them by all means legal and illegal, encouraged by bounties and aided by predator control officers, and by a round year open season on wolves. Then wolves are scarce and shy, wildlife is abundant, livestock depredation is very rare and confrontations with humans are unheard of, just like wolf-borne echinococcosis and rabies.

But history teaches nothing but the fact that we learn nothing.

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WOLVES, HYBRIDS AND FERAL DOGS

Crossing breeds does not necessarily mean anything other than swapping genetic material between species and breeds. However, allowing uncontrolled large-scale hybridization disperses wolf genes over a large heterogeneous population of mongrels, all of which interact with human close to urban areas. This in turn makes it impossible for legislation to follow both temporal and regional variations in nomenclature for wolves. In order to manage a wolf population in densely inhabited countries, identification based upon a canid’s appearance is the only viable method for distinguishing dogs from wolves.

A hybrid or mongrel is a canid resulting from crossbreeding a gray wolf (Canis lupus) or any of its subspecies with a dog (Canis lupus familiaris). When in-tentionally crossing wolves with dogs in order to transfer traits from wolves to domestic dogs, the resulting canid is called a wolfdog. Under certain circum-stances, hybrids may be classified as subspecies and should not necessarily be distinguished. An example of this is the restoration of the red wolf in the US.

Although dogs and wolves are genetically very close, they generally do not in-terbreed voluntarily in the wild. When they do interbreed, they produce viable offspring with all subsequent generations being fertile. As the mating seasons of wolves and dogs do not fully coincide, the likelihood of wild wolves and dogs mating and producing surviving offspring is small. Unlike wolves, dogs enter estrus twice a year, with their first mating season occurring later in the spring and the second in the autumn. Wolf pups born in the autumn have less chance of survival in the winter.

We may assume that dogs and wolves exhibit some degree of behavioral isolation.

Additionally, the instinct of wolf packs to protect their territory limits the po-tential ”wolf brides” to single female wolves living isolated from their former family pack.



However, the problem is not with the first generation of hybrids, but the generations following the first one. These F1 hybrids interbreed with wild wolves as wolves do, carrying traits from their ancestors into future generations.

The initial mating most commonly takes place between a male dog and a female wolf, though the opposite mating may occur. The offspring produced from such a mating is the first generation of hybrids, designated F1. F1 and subsequent hybrids may then be crossed with other hybrids, with pure wolves, or with dogs, resulting in a group of hybrids with a wide range of genetic makeup. This genetic makeup is most often represented as a percentage, a number which is presumed to be a measure of the amount of wolf blood in the animal. One should not, however, treat the percentage as a linear function indicating the degree of wolf traits or dog traits, but only as a number describing the crossbreeding process.

When a hybrid is said to be 99 % wolf and 1 % dog, it does not tell us anything about the canid’s appearance or traits.

It only tells that one of its ancestors is a dog and it is a hybrid!

Hybrids — An introductionAs we learned earlier, wolves differ from dogs in several repects. A pure wolf exhibits traits developed through evolution. A wolf is in general shy, and avoids contact with humans, while the domestic dog exhibits the opposite behavior. Both have traits and appearances developed over a period of at least 10,000 years. Thus dogs and wolves each exhibit traits that are predictable for their species and their appearance follows the rules for their species.

Things change when dogs and wolves are crossbred. Thus, though the behavior of a single individual wolf hybrid may be predictable, the behavior of the type as a whole is not, and such differences will appear within a single pack.

Wolfdog hybrids are a mixture of genetic traits. This results in behavior patterns that are less predictable compared to either a wolf or a dog. The offspring from such mating have posed a hazard to human communities wherever they have lived. After studying numerous historical and modern accounts of wolf attacks on humans, the Canadian naturalist C.H.D. Clarke concluded that most attacks on humans

involved either rabid wolves or hybrids.

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Genetics for dummiesMost multicellular organisms have two sets of chromosomes; that is, they are diploid. These organisms have one copy of each gene (and therefore one allele) on each chromosome. If both alleles are the same, they are called homozygotes. If the alleles are different, they are called heterozygotes. Whether or not a certain trait is expressed depends on the individual’s genes, which in turn depend on both parents from which they are inherited.

In genetics, a gene is called recessive when an allele causing an observable characteristic (phenotype) is only seen in an organism that has two copies of the same allele. If a genetic trait is recessive, a hybrid needs two copies of the gene for the trait to be expressed. Thus both parents have to be carriers of a recessive trait in order to transfer the trait to the next generation. If both parents are carriers, each child has a 25% chance of exhibiting the recessive trait in the phenotype.

Dominance is the situation in which one allele masks the phenotypic expression of another allele. In the simplest case, where a gene exists in two allelic versions (designated A and B), three combinations of alleles are possible: AA, AB, and BB. If AA and BB individuals show different forms of some trait, and AB individuals show the same phenotype as AA individuals, then allele A is said to dominate or be dominant or show dominance over allele B, and B is said to be recessive to A.

Figure 9. Simpified genetic flow


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The simplified example in figure 9 illustrates the complexity of inherited traits

Each black box in Figure 9 represents a gene with two alleles. Red alleles represent a wolflike appearance; yellow alleles represent a doglike appearance with a long tail and a square shaped body. The green alleles represent a shy behavior typical of wolves and the blue alleles represent the opposite behavior. Blue and yellow are dominant alleles.

As we see in Figure 9, the pups show mixed traits. Starting with the leftmost pup we notice that:

1. The leftmost pup is a typical hybrid with a behavior typical of wolves.

2. The next pup has a typical wolflike appearance with a behavior inherited from earlier dogs.

3. The third one is a pure wolf, though it carries dog genes!

4. The rightmost is a hybrid, with a behavior inherited from earlier dogs.

This example shows how appearance and traits are transmitted via genes to new generations. Some traits are recessive, thus being invisible for generations and popping up when two wolves with the same recessive gene happen to mate.

What happened in this example is something called genetic pollution. Genetic pollution is a term for uncontrolled gene flow into wild populations, altering the genetic characteristics of a natural population.

The change caused by genetic pollution is irreversible!

Genetic pollution and hybridsSome wolf researchers in the former Soviet Union observed packs consisting of feral dogs competing for territories with wolf packs. They also noticed that neither domestic dogs nor feral dogs mate with wolves. According to European scientists, crossbreeding in the wild may happen in areas near human habita-tions where wolf density is low and dogs are common. However, there are re-ported cases of wolfdogs in areas with normal wolf densities in the former Soviet Union. Unintentional matings of dogs and wild wolves have also been confir-med in some populations through genetic testing.

As the survival of some European wolves is severely threatened, scientists fear that the creation of wolfdog populations in the wild is a threat to the existence

of all European wolf populations. The risk of crossbreeding is relatively small as long as the first hybrid generation F1 is contained.

Large-scale genetic pollution occurs when humans intentionally release hybrids into the wild in order to re-establish a local wolf-like population — something that has happened in several North European countries during past decades. [46]

Another source of hybridization took place in the former Soviet Union when hybrid guard dogs were released into the wild in the early 1990’s. Two major crossbreeds were involved: an East Siberian Laika - Grey Wolf and a German Shepherd - Grey Wolf.

The Laika hybrids were used by Soviet border troops along the northern part of the border between Finland and the USSR. The Shepherd hybrids were used on the southern part of that border and along the border between the East Eu-ropean countries and Central Europe. This latter breed forms the official wolf population of Germany, called the ”Lausitz wolves”.

Photo 23. A Laika hybrid at the Darwin Museum in Moscow

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Photo 23 shows the typical shape and coloration of a Laika hybrid. This photo was taken by Eirik Granqvist at the Darwin Museum in Moscow. This hybrid and its offspring exhibit a typical coloration in which white, red and brown are the predominant colors.

The degree of genetic pollution in Europe is apparent in Photo 24. The canid on the left side is a German wolf. According to local DNA interpretation, it is a pure grey wolf. Its doglike appearance reveals genes from at least German She-

pherds, and so it is called a German ”Lausitz wolf ”. The canid on the right side is a pure Tamaskan dog without any known connections to wolves.

Photo 21 shows a young hybrid with similar ancestors although this picture was taken 1997 in Finland.

Our concern is not limited to the hybrids that escaped from the former So-viet Union. The Norwegian writer and researcher Lars Toverud [46] has shown that the Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish governments deliberately introduced hybrids into the Scandinavian countries starting in the 1970’s. There are several indications that this process still continues in all parts of Europe.

Poor knowledge of natural science distorts the picture of the pure Grey wolf as imagination takes over. Even worse, researchers’ DNA databases are built on material collected from ”pure wild wolves”. But due to the lack of knowledge, samples from hybrids have slipped into the database classified as samples from pure wolves. When further DNA interpretation is performed in order to deter-mine the purity of later canids, hybrids are found to be pure wolves because the database is contaminated. Some evidence shows that ”pure German wolves” are

Photo 24 A Lausitz wolf (left) and a domestic dog (right)

slowly extending their habitats to Denmark and Belgium and being classified as pure grey wolves, although they are properly classified as Lausitz wolves.

Photo 25 shows two modified domestic dogs. The upper one is a Tamaskan sled dog and the lower one a West Siberian laika. The photo shows what happens when we apply some wolflike features without changing the appearance and coloration. Both dogs’ tails have been straightened out, the Laika’s body has been elongated and the head twisted down, and — voilà:

Photo 25. A modified Tamaskan dog and a modified Laika

Photo 26. A domestic dog and a wolf


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Two pure dogs that most wolf lovers would accept as a pure grey wolf !

This is what it’s all about! The Tamaskan dog exhibits a wolflike appearance, with the exception of its belly and ears, but the Laika retains more doglike featu-res regardless of the change. If we meet these canids in the wild, we note one re-markable difference between a grey wolf and our dogs: the size. As long as dogs and wolves are kept separate from each other, the difference in size is somewhat as shown in photo 26.

Due to the fact that a wolf pack or even a single wolf is a killing machine, a dog’s chances of survival on encountering a wolf pack are practically nil.

There are indications from France and Spain that even large guard dogs protec-ting sheep have no hope against a wolf pack. However, genetic pollution seems to be changing the rules about size, and hybridization has led to situations where hybrids exceeds the size of purebred grey wolves. For reasons unknown, hybrid black wolves are reaching dimensions far in excess of the Grey wolf. This phenomenon was documented in Sweden as early as 1801, a year in which five black wolves were killed. These wolves were completely black and they were larger than the more common Grey wolf.

The same phenomenon has been observed in the US, where hybrid black wolves may grow to immense dimensions.

In our earlier discussion of wolf behavior we established that wolves live in fa-mily packs where all the younger members are offspring of the same alpha pair. This can be interpreted as follows:

1. if there are black wolves in a pack, all the offspring are hybrids and at least one of the alpha pair is a hybrid;

2. if the wolves are not related to each other, the pack does not consist of pure wolves, but of feral dogs and / or hybrids.

Later populations introduced by the federal government in attempts to re-estab-lish wolves did not take into account the impact of hybrids and genetic pollution.

At the time it seemed more important to introduce something looking like wol-ves than to attempt recovery of the original Grey wolf.

The red wolfThe red wolf (Canis rufus) has gone through an interesting evolution. It was thought to be extinct in the wild by 1980, but after the introduction of a captive breeding program, the animals are now breeding successfully in the wild. The red wolf is morphologically midway between grey wolves and coyotes, and ge-netic analysis has indicated that it may carry genes from coyotes. In the red wolf recovery program, canids released into the wild were genetically fingerprinted and subsequent generations were tested against these canids. Any canids sho-wing signs of hybridization were euthanized.

In other words, the red wolf recovery began with a hybrid, and all DNA databa-ses were populated with samples from these first ”pure red wolves”. In this case, it was necessary to accept that the only viable path to re-establishment carried this risk of genetic pollution.

Impacts of genetic pollutionGenetic Pollution is currently defined by the Food and Agriculture Organiza- tion of the United Nations (FAO) as:

Uncontrolled spread of genetic information into the genomes of organisms in which such genes are not present in nature


Photo 28. A red wolf [49]

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The term Genetic Pollution is being used to describe gene flows between species and their wild relatives. It is usually an unintentional process, where genetically modified organisms are dispersing their genes into the natural environment by breeding with wild plants or animals. Modern dogs are ancient wolves whose genes have been significantly modified over thousands of years by a combinati-on of evolution and human intervention, and which are now disseminating their modified genes back into the wild wolf population.

As all members of the Canis genus are inter-fertile, what is to prevent genetic pollution from taking place? In fact, the only barriers to reproduction among all these species are geographic isolation and differences in size and social orga-nization that tend to restrict reproductive access.

The main threats caused by hybridization are:

1. Hybrids with a higher percentage of dog blood tend to be more aggressive than hybrids with a higher percentage of wolf blood.

2. Hybrids are less predictable than wolves. It is difficult to take any precautions based upon the percentage of ”wolf blood”. A hybrid may inherit a majority of dog genes from both parents, thus looking and behaving like a dog, or the opposite.

3. Hybrids often retain a wolf ’s primitive instincts such as prey drive, while losing wild animals’ fear of humans; remember that pure wolves typically avoid human contact in the wild. This in turn can lead to an unpredictable and dangerous animal. We mentioned reports indicating that the majority of attacks against humans are caused by hybrids.

4. Habituation is a known factor contributing to some wolf attacks, which result from wolves living close to human habitation. This in turn causes wol-ves to lose their fear of humans. Hybrids habituate faster than wolves would do, because of their dog genes.

In Italy, where wolves and dogs always have lived in close contact and have presumably mated in the past, the increasing numbers of hybrids has reached a tipping point at which pollution of the wolves’ gene pool may be irreversible. Hybridization may dilute the wolf genes to effective extinction, destroying what we know as the Italian wolf. The species might survive as a more doglike animal better adapted to living close to people, but

it would not be what we call a wolf today; instead it would be canis lupus mul-tilex

How to fight hybridizationThere are some simple guidelines: more knowledge, less fear, and elimination of anything that makes it easier for hybrids to survive in the wild.

More knowledgeOne of the major problems is that today’s experts do not have enough knowledge about the appearance of wolves and hybrids. Their knowledge is founded entirely upon DNA interpretation which, as mentioned earlier, may be incorrect due to genetically polluted databases.

There is a simple rule:

A wolf is a pure wolf if and only if both its appearance, behavior, and its genoty-pe indicate it to be 100% wolf

Photo 29 shows a mongrel carrying a GPS collar from the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (FGFRI), advertising itself as ”Knowledge-based solutions for sustainable choices”. This mongrel or hybrid was captured in February 2010 by FGFRI researchers and fitted with a GPS collar.

Later, local hunters recognized it as being a dog or hybrid with a GPS collar, and the ”beast” was euthanized in June 2010. The hybrid had given birth to offspring the same year, some of which were killed by the same hunters, while the rest of the pups escaped into the woods.


Photo 29. A hybrid with a GPS collar

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What can we expect from the public when our experts do not recognize differences between dogs and wolves?

Less fearWolf reintroduction is more or less controlled by enthusiasts and researchers who believe that reintroducing wild wolves would help local ecosystems and aid in the re-establishment of plants and birds currently limited by ungulate popu-lations. Reintroduction in itself does not harm the purity of wolves’ gene pool, but again the lack of knowledge does.

As wolf populations starts to grow and the growth is accelerated by deliberate or accidental release of hybrids into the wild, there is not enough political will or knowledge to eliminate canids with traits of appearance or behavior that are aberrant for wolves.

Less fear of losing reintroduced wolves helps sustain a healthy population.

Carcasses and hybridsWildlife watching and wildlife photography are among the top ten nature ‘pro-ducts’ in the European Union. Capitalizing on the increased wolf population,

Photo 30. A photographers wildlife

private wolf enthusiasts have begun using carcasses in order to stage photo-graphs of ”wild animals”.

Without carcasses it is extremely difficult to see bears, wolverines and wolves in the wild; and above all, it is impossible to guarantee a successful night for paying tourists in an observation blind.

Photo 30 shows a typical blind with carcasses scattered in front of it. Photo 31 shows what is left of a wild bear after having enjoyed the unlimited supply of

meat and salmon. This bear is unable to roam in the wild due to its weight and the size of its belly — and he’s not the only one!

The main concern is that the hunting skills of hybrids and wolves decline as they learn to get their food from human sources. This is a kind of habituation where people intentionally encourage hybrids and wolves to come closer to them by offering food and supporting the welfare of hybrid populations.

This habituation and the behaviors it causes are taught to the offspring, making them equally unable to fend for themselves.

We should keep in mind that first-generation hybrids and feral dogs do not inherit hunting skills through their genes in the same way that wolves do. Nor do they possess the same physical strength as wolves. This makes them inferior hunters, and that is why they are drawn to carcasses, where they are more likely to thrive than in the wild.

Photo 31. A typical carcass bear unable to move [photo by Tapani Pääkkönen]

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Carcasses are excellent tools for ensuring the survival of hybrids

Photo 32 shows a typical pack of hybrid wolves congregating in the vicinity of a commercial carcass. These hybrids are totally dependent on humans and unable to catch their prey in the wild.

Wolves and hybrids have become so habituated to and even dependent on car-casses that the animals now tag along behind tractors resupplying fresh meat to the observation area.

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Photo 32. A hybrid pack at a commercial carcass [photo by Esa Hirvonen]

WOLFDOGS OR HYBRIDSToday there are several dog breeds that reflect a significant amount of wolf in their appearance. In most cases these breeds are the result of crossbreeding wolves with German Shepherds. We will take a look at two of these breeds, the Saarloos wolfhound and Czechoslovakian Wolfdog (Ceskoslovensky vlcak).

Legally speaking, any canid with some percentage of domestic dog in it is considered a domestic dog. This interpretation complies with the Bern convention signed by most of the European countries. In this chapter we distinguish be-tween wolfdogs and hybrids by saying a

wolfdog is bred to be a companion and pet.

Wolfdogs are divided into low-content, mid-content, and high-content individ-uals. These are not absolute values but estimates based more on appearance than behavior.

Low-Content wolfdogs show little to almost no physical appearance of being part wolf. Most will look like the original dog breed on which they are based.

Mid-Content wolfdogs are described as being “half wolf. ” Most wolfdogs from this group show noticeable characteristics of both sides — dog and wolf.

High-Content wolfdogs are self-explanatory, and these animals are as close to pure wolf as you will find. Most people, even wolf biologists, cannot distinguish these canids from pure wolves.

The Saarloos wolfhoundThe Saarloos wolfhound is the result of cross-breeding a German Shepherd male to a female European wolf. The F1 pups were crossed back with German Shep- herds, and the result was a 25 % low-content wolfdog. The breeding was initiated by the Dutch breeder Leendert Saarloos in 1932, after he decided that most dogs were too domesticated to be optimal working dogs.

As the breeding continued with subsequent generations and crossing wolfdogs with each other, some traits were lost and the result was something other than Saarloos had hoped for. From 1942 until his death in 1969, he worked in vain to



win recognition for his ”European wolfdog”, but the Dutch Kennel Club did not recognize the breed until 1975. Leendert Saarloos was honored for his work as the creator of the breed and the name was changed to Saarloos wolfhound.

The Saarloos wolfhound was recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Inter-nationale (FCI) in 1981. Because the breed is cautious and reserved, the dogs are mainly kept as family dogs.

The Saarloos wolfhound is a medium-sized dog with a height of 60 - 70 cm and weighing 25 - 40 kg. It has inherited some of its ancestors’ appearance and traits.

The fur exhibits wolflike colors: grey, reddish, and white. However, many fea-tures are inherited from the German Shepherd. Some of these are the ears, the rectangular shape of the body, and the long tail. Also the narrow and drawn-in belly is a typical doglike feature.

Photo 33 shows a Saarloos wolfhound and Photo 34 shows three heads, all from different individuals of the same breed. Are they more than low-content wolf-dogs?

All of the heads are typical of domestic dogs. Large and long ears with brown and round eyes indicate German Shepherd heritage. Only the rightmost dog shows more a wolflike appearance, as its eyes are slightly oval .

Photo 33. Saarloos wolfhond

The Saarloos wolfhound is living evidence that certain traits do not diminish even after a century of subsequent generations, one of which is

the cautious and reserved attitude typical of wolves.

The Czechoslovakian VlčákThe Czechoslovakian Wolfdog or Vlčák is a breed created in 1955 in Czechoslo- vakia. The project was initiated by crossbreeding German Shepherds with Car- pathian wolves. The breeder’s aim was to create a breed that would combine the temperament and trainability of the German Shepherd with the strength and physical build of the Carpathian wolf. The breed was intended for military use in Special Operations, but later it was used as a guard dog and watch dog as well.

In 1958 the first crossbred pups were born; they were crossed back with German Shepherds, thus obtaining a 25 % (low-content) wolfdog. In 1982 the breed was recognized as a national breed in Czechoslovakia and in 1999 it was recognized by FCI.

The Czechoslovakian Vlčák has inherited several traits typical of wolves and the breed differs in many aspects from the Saarloos Wolfhound, although they have similar ancestors.

The Czechoslovakian Vlčák does not bark, expressing itself mainly with its body language. This is one of the main reasons the breed is commonly used in mili-tary operations.

The body has a rectangular shape with a height-to-length ratio of 9:10. As we recall, this kind of rectangular shape is typical of dogs.

Males weigh between 26 and 30 kg and females slightly less. As seen in Photo 35, the ears are inherited from the German Shepherd rather than wolves, as wolves’ ears are much shorter. The tail is slightly sloped and when lowered, it reaches


Photo 34. Saarloos wolfhonds

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the tarsuses — also a doglike feature. The front limbs are straight and narrow-set with the paws slightly turned out, and the hind limbs are muscular with a long calf and instep.

The hair is straight, close, and very thick, with a color from yellow-grey to sil- very grey.

The Czechoslovakian Vlčák develops a strong relationship with its owner and his family. However, difficulties can occur if it encounters unfamiliar people or animals. The dog is extremely quick in its movements, and unlike the Saarloos wolfhound, it is fearless.

When selecting a Czechoslovakian Vlčák, it is important to realize that training it to become a manageable and reliable companion takes longer than training traditional dogs.

You have to be sure that the temperament of the Czechoslovakian Vlčák matches your lifestyle before you select this dog!

Training the Czechoslovakian Vlčák requires time and motivation. Failure may prove fatal to both the owner and his environment. The most frequent cause of failure is training with long boring repetitions, as the dog rapidly loses motiva-tion.

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Photo 35. A Czechoslovakian Vlčák

Miscellaneous breedsAs the Bern Convention ratified by most of the European countries prohibits all forms of deliberate capture and keeping of wolves (Appendix II), several private zoos use high-content wolfdogs to replace pure wolves, since a wolfdog can be bred up to 99 % wolf and still be classified as a dog. The wolfdogs shown in Photo 36 are from the Kuusamo Carnivore Center in Finland. Wolfdog A is 80

% wolf and B is 50 % wolf. Both wolfdogs exhibit a doglike appearance that is proportional to its genetic percentage.

Photo 37 represents a ”pure wolf ” from Ähtäri Zoo in Central Finland. This ca-nid is, however, a high-content wolfdog. Several features point in this direction.


Photo 36. Wolfdogs in a private zoo

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Although its skull, fur, and coloration are typical of wolves, some details of its appearance point in a different direction.

The body has a rectangular shape with a height-to-length ratio close to 10:10 or even smaller, and the hind limb is not wide and muscular like wolves’ limbs.

Dr Erik S. Nyholm, an internationally respected expert on large carnivores, expressed his opinion about this canid with the words:

”this is not a pure wolf. Its penis is visible!”

Even worse, a closer look at the claws tells us that they are light brown with yel-low strips, not black like the claws of a pure wolf. This confirms that this ”wolf ” is a ”pure” hybrid.

Owning a wolfdogAlthough some wolfdog breeds were domesticated decades ago, wolflike traits remain. The Saarloos wolfhound is extremely shy and the Czechoslovakian Vlčák is difficult to train. Although these breeds have not had wolf genes for tens of generations, some wolflike traits remain unchanged.

The same phenomenon is recognized with wild hybrids

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Photo 37. A wolf in Ähtäri Zoo, Finland

MotivationThe first question we have to answer is: why do people own wolf-dogs? Is it sim-ply the desire to “bond with the wilderness” by owning part of it? Is it what Jack London described as the ”Call of the Wild,” with all the romance and adventure it entails? Maybe it represents the step from being a ”wolf lover” to being an ”almost wolf owner”.

Regardless of the owner’s intent, most owners have not done any research in order to understand the impact of owning a wolfdog and are thus completely ignorant of the responsibilities that come with such ownership.

The behavior of each individual wolfdog can fall anywhere along the broad spectrum of its genetic background.

Expected behaviorA wolfdog is a large and high-energy dog, not a good choice for families with small children.

Whether a wolfdog cross is considered more dangerous than a dog depends on the behavior of the individual alone, not the breed of wolfdog.

Proper socialization of the individual wolfdog depends entirely on the owner and his training methods.

The behavior of a wolfdog is not directly proportional to its percentage of wolf content, in that a high-percentage wolf-dog cross may exhibit behavior more typical of a dog. Conversely, a low-percentage wolf-dog cross could behave more like a wolf.

The behavior of a wolfdog is not determined by its genotype or its appearance.

LegislationAt the moment several European countries either outlaw wolfdogs or place re- strictions on ownership. In the US, 40 states effectively forbid the ownership, breeding, and importation of wolfdogs, while other states impose some form of regulation on ownership.

In Canada, the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, and Prince Ed- ward Island prohibit wolfdogs as pets.

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There is also international pressure to declare wolfdogs unsuitable as pets and to implement an international ban on the private possession, breeding, and sale of wolfdogs (EU commission: Action Plan for the conservation of the wolves (Canis lupus) in Europe, Strasbourgh, 2000).

Wofdogs should not, however, he considered wild animals, as this has a serious negative impact on the wolf population.

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LOCAL AUTHORITIESAND HYBRIDS

In both Europe and the USA, governments are working to reintroduce wolves to specific rural and forested areas. As the main objective has been a rapid increase in the number of wolves, less attention has been paid to quality. This has resulted in a dramatic change in the quality and purity of the Grey wolf.

We begin with the situation in US as described in [50], but the same applies to most of the European countries.

An animal’s nomenclature is critically important in the twenty-first century. For instance, if the animal is a gray wolf (Canis lupus) or red wolf (Canis rufus), you cannot shoot it in the U.S. because it is on the endangered species list. If it is an Eastern Canadian wolf (Canis lupus lycaon), you can shoot it in Quebec, Can-ada, but not in the northeastern U.S. because technically it is a gray wolf. How-ever, if it is Canis lycaon it is unclear what the rules are in the northeastern U.S. In addition, if it is a coyote, you can shoot it. If it is any of the canids listed above or even a coydog, you cannot capture and keep it in Connecticut because it is considered a wild animal and a permit is required. However, in Massachusetts anything with dog in it is considered a dog and you can cage it.

Several European countries and some in Africa have ratified ”The Bern Con-vention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.” This is a binding international instrument in the field of Nature Conservation and covers natural heritage in Europe and some African countries as well. It is particularly concerned with protecting natural habitats and endangered species, including migratory species. All countries that have signed the convention are obliged to establish legislative tools for the protection and conservation of species.

The legislation in most EU countries does not excuse mistakes when eliminating wolves in order to protect domestic animals, livestock, or other property. Penal- ties up to six years in prison are possible.

On the other hand, the Bern Convention also obliges all signatories to prevent pollution of species.


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JunseletikenWhen is a canid a hybrid and when is it a wolf? The legislation gives ordinary people no other option than to accept all canids as protected wolves, thus creat-ing a likelihood of legal hybridization.

Photo 38 shows a common pet and definitely a dog. Compare this dog to the the Swedish wolf called ”Junseletiken” (the Junsele bitch), which according to Swed-

ish authorities is a genetically valuable wolf for the Swedish wolf population, as it has come all the way from Russia through Finland into Sweden. Killing this wolf

Photo 38. A canid protected by fear

Photo 39. A genetically important Swedish wolf

for whatever reason earns at least two years in prision in Sweden, a country that has ratified the Bern Convention.

Is this a pure wolf ?

This wolf has presumably come through the northern border between Finland and Russia. This is one of the regions where Laika hybrids were released after the fall of the USSR in the early 1990’s. Most likely this ”wolf ” contains a large amount of West Siberian Laika.

The following doglike features are evident:

1. The coloration reminds us of the dog in Photo 38. This is a dog mixture found in the archipelago along the Finnish south coast.

2. The tip of the tail is reddish.

3. It has no black strips on the front legs.

4. The profile of the head and length of the muzzle indicate dog heritage.

5. Although it is midwinter, the fur is atypical for wolves but common in dogs.

In any case, this hybrid proved extremely expensive for Swedish taxpayers, as it was transported by helicopter at least four times from the northern part of Swe-den to central Sweden in order to strengthen the meager genetic base of wolves there. After each transport it ran back home again. The total bill was estimated to be around 5 million Swedish crowns.

A wolf cocktailOur next example comes from Finland, where two “pure wolves” where killed by the local police force. At first glance, both animals in Photo 40 seem to be pure wolves, and that is what the police wrote in their report. Photo 41, howev-er, reveals the truth about these wolves. The ears and the shape of the head are doglike and again, it shows features inherited from German Shepherds. These two hybrids have been traced to a wolf breeding farm in Russia.

Although the Bern convention requires all signatories to eliminate hybrids like these,

don’t do anything yourself unless you wish to spend time behind bars.


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Auli the pure dogWe continue with a case from the province of South-Western Finland, where a pack of 5 - 7 wolves terrorized local communities, killing domestic dogs and livestock in the midst of inhabited areas. On Sunday, January 15, 2012,

this canid, wearing a GPS collar, was accidentally shot in Pöytyä, Finland by local hunters. The hunter was initially charged with killing the wolf, but the prosecution later dismissed the case and it was never adjudicated in court. The dismissal took place after the defense lawyer requested morphological analysis of the canid, though it is unclear whether this request was the reason the charges were dismissed.

Photo 42. Auli post mortum

Photo 40. Two wolflike hybrids Photo 41. What about the ears?

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The first question was, was this a wolf or a dog? DNA analysis and interpretation carried out at the University of Oulu concluded that it was a pure Finnish wolf, but its appearance reveals the opposite.

The Finnish Game and Fishing Research Institute (FGFRI) argued on behalf of the DNA evidence, claiming that DNA cannot be wrong. (As we shall see later, that is true in a sense — but interpretation of DNA evidence is both demanding and contextual and most certainly can be performed incorrectly by insufficient-ly skilled or experienced technologists working with inadequate data.)

To obtain a morphological evaluation from known wolf specialists, Photo 43 was sent to several researchers around the world. The response was:

The wolves in Photo 43 are pure grey wolves

Photo 42 was taken by hunters after the wolf was shot and Photo 43 by FGFRI officers somewhere else. The differences between these two pictures have been explained away by the artificial lighting used in Photo 42. A photo flash would, however, not produce shadows on the front side of the canid. Based on shadows,

Photo 43. Fitting GPS collars on two unknown wolves


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the light behind the canid does not appear to originate from an artificial source such as a car’s headlights.

Other specialists were consulted regarding Photo 42. The responses from both Pjotr Danilov, PhD, of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at The University of Calgary, indi-cate that the wolf in Photo 42 exhibits some doglike features.

Pjotr Danilov said:

.. As for my first impression – I can say that one – the small yellowish animal - looks like a dog

Valerius Geist expressed himself more colorfully in his email to Eirik Granqvist

I am still trying to comprehend: is this reality or is this a spoof ? Is this someone’s idea of a joke? The canine pictured is a cute doggie, but not a wolf by any stretch of the imagination. If it is not a dog that belongs to someone, but is free ranging, then it’s a feral dog. It might have some wolf in it, but neither the structure of its coat nor its color are that of a wolf. I am sure you have somewhere zoological gardens that have real wolves on display where the advocates for this animal can go and look, and one would hope, learn. Conserving mongrels is not wolf conservation! Deliberately degrading the wolf genome is equivalent of extinguishing wolves. And that will happen over time anyway in settled landscapes where wolves meet dogs.

The truth about this hybrid’s heritage remains unclear, but this episode shows how uncertain the evaluation of wolves vs. hybrids can be, especially when high-content hybrids are considered.

DNA tests carried out in 2013 indicate that Auli might have been a pure dog.

Danish wolvesDenmark celebrated the first wolf found in the wild there since the beginning of the 19th century. The newspapers referred to DNA analysis showing that the canid found dead in the district of Thy was a pure wolf. The Danish laboratories did a great job of comparing the DNA of the dead canid against the DNA of hy-brids (which ones?), Polish wolves, German wolves and Italian dogs. They found a perfect match in German wolves, the canids we called Lausitz wolves.

There are numerous movies available on youtube.com showing this wolf around the time of post-mortem examination (necropsy). These movies indicate that

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this canid definitely show some traits inherited from wolves. The paws are large, the claws are black, and both the jaws and the fangs are wolflike.

But doubts still remain, as the wolf in Photo 44 also exhibits several doglike fea-

tures, one of which is the width and shape of its muzzle. It also lacks the facial markings of a real wolf. Pictures taken during necropsy show a squarish, doglike body.

That Denmark has published this information about the wolf stands in stark contrast to the practice in many other countries, where

all information, including photographs, is withheld from the public.

Authorities endangering natureWe have seen that lack of knowledge is a factor that endangers the Grey wolf. As long as this ignorance only infects the public, our global wolf population is safe. However, when specialists who work with our endangered species cannot distinguish wolves from dogs, the situation becomes hazardous — to wolves.

Photo 44. The wolf from Thy


We have discussed how to combat hybridization. Now it is time to look more closely at the case presented in the previous chapter. We should recall an im-portant provision that appears in the legislation of several countries and also in the Bern convention

Every canid containing even the smallest amount of dog heritage is considered a dog

This simple rule must be interpreted such that any doglike trait always disquali-fies a wolf, thus allowing anyone to euthanize the animal, since it poses a threat to the true wolf population.

As mentioned earlier, the canid in Photo 45 is an example of ignorance rooted in blind confidence in DNA analysis. This hybrid was caught in mid-winter of 2010 by officers of the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute and fitted with a GPS collar. When the animal was captured, blood samples were obtained, analyzed and filed. The canid was released, after which it mated with a wolf or hybrid resulting in some 6 - 7 pups.

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Photo 45. A hybrid with a GPS collar

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The canid was observed by local hunters who claimed that it was a dog or a hy-brid. In June 2010 it was shot after an extensive hunt. Some of the pups were also euthanized, while the rest escaped into to wilderness.

The issue arose that:

When catching wolves, officers should at a minimum be able to perform a mor-phological test indicating whether the caught animal is a wolf, a dog, or an ele-phant.

Not until the canid has been found to be a wolf should a collar be fitted. What does Photo 45 tell us?

1. The coloration is atypical of wolves.

2. The ears are doglike.

3. The claws are light and the paws small.

4. The forehead, the muzzle and the shape of the head are all doglike.

As a matter of fact, this looks much more like a dog than a wolf. A rough esti- mate is 85 % dog and at most 15 % wolf. Nonetheless, one should keep in mind that percentage does not necessarily correlate with appearance.

Let’s continue with two more questions:

1. How many “sisters” and “brothers” does this mongrel have?

2. How many of the escaped pups gave birth to further hybrids?

This is a critical concern, as this hybrid was living evidence that contrary to official pronouncements, even F1 hybrids survive in the wild without problems. Suppose four pups escaped, of which 3 mated with wolves or hybrids from 2012 on, each giving birth to 6 pups twice since 2012. A total of 36 pups plus their possible offspring are now running wild in the woods, some looking like wolves, other not.

After this incident, FGFRI released a statement saying that the hybrid was identified immediately, but they had to wait for DNA analysis. The weakness in this statement was that DNA analysis does not take 5 months, and catching the dog during wintertime would have been the easiest and fastest way to remove it from the population. This was made all the easier by the fact that it was wearing a GPS collar that continuously transmitted the precise location of the dog. (Not to mention that its tracks were visible in the snow.)


How is it possible that people engaged in nature and wolf preservation cannot distinguish wolves from dogs and hybrids?

Nobody caresTry to be a citizen respecting the law and you will be surprised. Once a couple of years ago, a hybrid was euthanized after being seriously injured by a moose, probably after the hybrid tried to kill the moose’s calf.

After the hybrid was killed, the shooter called the emergency number and reported the incident to the local police by saying: “I shot a wolflike hybrid”. Su- prisingly, he was simply told to bury the canid and forget the whole incident.

Keeping in mind that our legislation urges a maximum penalty of six years in prison for killing a wolf, it is extremely rare that the police force completely ig- nores the possibility that the shooter actually killed a pure grey wolf.

The hybrid in question is shown in Photo 46 and there is no doubt that it is a mongrel or hybrid with only a few wolflike traits. It should be compared to the canid in Photo 45 or the Auli-wolf in Photo 42. This one definitely looks more like a wolf than they do.

The carousel goes roundSometimes the authorities care. We had an excellent example of how the “green leagues”, with their inquisition-like methods, are working both within and out-side the law. Two hunters tracking wolves with the possible intent of shooting

Photo 46. Another hybrid

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them were caught and sentenced to suspended jail terms for a crime they never committed. Legislation in most western countries requires a crime to be carried out before it can be prosecuted, with the exception of a few special crimes like those related to terrorism.

The sentence was solely based on evidence presented by a FGFRI officer who testified that he had recognized wolf tracks in the area.

Knowledge has now sunk a level where hybrids are distinguished from wolves based on the tracks in the snow.

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QUO VADIS CANIS LUPUS

Unfortunately the Grey wolf finds itself between a rock and a hard place, and it will be exterminated if allowed to live close to settled areas and managed by “balcony biologists” and “the green city league”

First we have to accept the fact that DNA analysis is only one method among several when deciding whether a canid is a wolf or a hybrid. Other methods must be accepted, since there is no time to analyze or even to submit DNA when reacting to wolflike canids attacking livestock or domestic animals. Taking DNA samples from wild animals is a procedure that requires skill, equipment, and time to process the samples.

A farmer or shepherd does not have any of these

In order to master the basic skills needed to identify a canid as hybrid or wolf, it is necessary to establish a formal description for the purpose. This may result in some unnecessary shooting of pure wolves, but that is the price we have to pay.

Morphological tests of canids take place all the time, for instance when the pu-rity of domestic dogs is evaluated in dog shows, where judges familiar with a specific dog breed evaluate each individual dog for its conformance to standards prescribed for the breed.

The fundamental truths do not change when considering wolves

Wolf conservation must be seen as the conservation of the wild wolf ’s genome, and success demands the absence of dogs and other canids. Rather than trying to domesticate wolves in urban areas, conservation work should focus on setting aside areas in the wilderness for this purpose alone, and isolating those areas from humans, wolf lovers, and dogs alike.

Wolves in the futureUnfortunately we lack both political will and international consensus to solve the problems with our wolf populations. We have already seen “spaghetti wolves” in Italy and “Lausitz wolves” in Germany and the northern parts of Central Europe. Reddish dogs enjoy the protected status of “wolves” in Scandinavia and Finland.


There are intentions in France to create a “Eurowolf ” suitable for rural areas. Italian wolf enthusiasts recently celebrated a “successful” inter-breeding between an Italian female wolf, “Giulietta”, and a collared Slovenian male “Slavc” in the Lessinia district, NE Italy.

Maybe our European wolf should be a pet named Canis Lupus Multiplex?

The Grey wolf is on an irreversible track to total extermination in Europe and we can recall the old truth

THE FASTEST ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

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34. Wikipedia Commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/grard_van_drunen Picture by Gérard Van Drunen

35. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lupo_appenninico_3.jpg Picture by Luigi Piccirillo

36. Biological Conservation, Volume 61, Issue 2, 1992, Pages 125–132

37. Mariomassone at en.wikipedia

38. http://www.smittskyddsinstitutet.se/sjukdomar/trikinos/

39. http://www.kennelliitto.fi/ länsisiperianlaika122.pdf

40. http://suurpedot.multiedition.fi/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=263

THE GREY WOLF PRESERVED TO EXTINCTION

THE GREY WOLF

41. The wolf and the spread of disease. Translated from the Russian Hunting and Game Management, November, 1978, Pages 24, 25

42. J. Eckert, M.A. Gemmell, F.-X. Meslin and Z.S. Pawłowski WHO/OIE Ma-nual on Echinococcosis in Humans and Animals: a Public Health Problem of Global Concern.

43. http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/index.html

44. http://www.who.int/rabies/en/WHO_guide_rabies_pre_post_exp_treat_humans.pdf

45. http://www.kennelliitto.fi/

46. Toverud Lars, Ulver i mosen: Utsetting av ulv i Norge og Sverige 1976-2001

47. Philip M. Boffey, Italy’s wild dogs winning darwinian battle, December 13, 1983, The New York Times.

48. http://www.quadrant.net/amcc/About/Flyers/hybrids.html

49. Image is the work of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

50. Raymond Coppinger, Lee Spector, and Lynn Miller. What, if anything, is a Wolf ?

51. Margo-CzW from nl, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TWH-jolly.JPG

52. Barton N.H, The role of hybridization in evolution Institute of Cell, Animal and Population Biology, University of Edinburgh

53. Michael K. Phillips, V Gary Henry, and Brian T Kelly. Restoration of the Red Wolf. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu

54. Astrid V. Stronen, Paul C. Paquet. Perspectives on the conservation of wild hybrids, Biological Conservation 167 (2013) 390–395.

55. www.wikipedia.org

56. www.elsevier.com/locate/bioconRussel McLendon, Dog breed tests: Do they really work? Mother Nature Network’s science editor explores the mys-terious world of dog DNA testing

57. William C. Thompson et al, Evaluating forensic DNA evidence: Essential elements of a competent defense review


APPENDIX A

WOLVES, DISEASES ANDPARASITES

Wolves play an important role in spreading diseases and parasites, some of which can be potentially fatal to humans. There are many reports of wolves found to be carrying infectious diseases, reports which provide good reason to believe that the predator plays an important role in the spread of disease. It is most likely that a highly mobile predator ranging over dozens of miles is able to spread these diseases over significant areas.

In the former Soviet Union alone, wolves have been found to be infected with more than 50 types of parasites. Among these are several dangerous types which can be transmitted to farm animals and people. Significant damage can also be done to wild hoofed animals by larval parasites, all of which also can be transmitted to man.

In this chapter I will briefly cover rabies and some of the most important parasites of the Taeniidae family.

RABIESWolves are a major vector for rabies in countries such as Russia, Iran, Afghani-stan, Iraq and India. Lupine rabies manifests itself in extreme agitation and ag-gression. Wolves develop an exceptionally severe aggressive state when infected and can bite numerous people in a single attack. Among many recorded epi-sodes is one in which a rabid wolf roamed over 100 miles in a single day, biting 25 people, some 50 farm animals, and an unknown number of wild animals.

The incubation period is 8–21 days. As the wolf becomes symptomatic, it grows agitated and may infect packmates before eventually deserting the pack. For humans, rabies is almost invariably fatal if not treated prior to the onset of severe symptoms. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing

APPENDIX A

disease in the brain and death. Once the rabies virus reaches the central nervous system and symptoms begin to show, the infection is virtually untreatable and is usually fatal within days.

Rabies-infected wolves do not show any fear of humans, and many of the documented wolf attacks are attributed to rabid animals. Unlike healthy wolves, which typically limit themselves to attacking women or children, attacks by rabid wolves are made at random, with adult men being killed on occasion.

Rabid attacks are also distinguished from predatory attacks by the fact that rabid wolves are unable to swallow any meat and thus cannot consume the prey.

Rabid wolves always travel alone as they are abandoned by their pack.

PARASITESThe family of tapeworms that are of most importance to man and carnivores are the Taeniidae. This group of parasites includes the general Taenia, Multiceps and Echinococcus. We will concentrate on the Echinococcus parasites that cause the hydatid disease also known as echinococcosis.

Figure A1. Rabies situation worldwide

APPENDIX A

Parasitic infection in wolves and hybrids is of particular concern to humans, since many of these infections can spread to dogs, which in turn transmit the parasites to humans. Humans living in suburban areas may be infected directly by being exposed to airborne eggs or larvae passed from fecal material. In areas where wolves inhabit pastoral areas, the parasites can be spread to livestock.

Basic life-cycleThe typical life cycle begins with free eggs containing larvae of the tapeworm being passed in the feces into the environment, where the larvae can last for days to months. Intermediate hosts including herbivores such as sheep, deer, moose and any other organisms including humans, ingest eggs spread by the wind from dry feces. In the intermediate host, eggs hatch into larvae that travel through the blood and form cysts in the host’s tissues.

After the death of the intermediate host, its body can be eaten by carnivores called definitive hosts. In the small intestine, protoscoleces turn inside out, attach, and give rise to adult tapeworms, thereby completing the life cycle.

The process varies slightly depending on the type of disease, but the main concern is that livestock and humans can act as intermediate hosts in this cycle.

Eggs in the environmentEggs produced by the definitive host are highly resistant to environmental factors and can remain infectious for months or up to one year in a moist environment at temperatures of between +4°C and +15°C. Eggs of Echinococcus are sensitive to desiccation. At a relative humidity of 25%, eggs of E. granulosus were killed within 4 days and at 0% within 1 day. Heating to 60°C - 80°C killed eggs of E. granulosus in less than 5 min. On the other hand, Echinococcus eggs can survive freezing temperatures. It has to be stressed, however, that the length of time for which contaminated materials should be heated will vary.

On the other hand, eggs of both E. granulosus and E. multilocularis are highly resistant to freezing temperatures. Therefore, the temperatures of a household deep freezer of −18°C to −20°C are insufficient for inactivating the eggs within any reasonable time. Very low temperatures of −70°C to −80°C are able to kill eggs of E. granulosus and E. multilocularis within 96 h or 48 h, respectively. The effective temperatures have to reach all parts of the contaminated material.

APPENDIX A

Intermediate hostsIntermediate hosts acquire the infection by the ingestion of eggs. Following the action of enzymes in the stomach and small intestine, larvae of a tapeworm are released from their keratinized embryophores, which penetrate the wall of the small intestine.

Upon gaining access to a venule or lacteal, larvea are passively transported to the liver (75%), where some are retained. Others reach the lungs (22%), and a few may be transported further to the spleen (1 %) and kidneys (0,4%). All mam-mals (including man) in which hydatid cysts of Echinococcus species develop after infection with eggs may be referred to as intermediate hosts. It might be useful to differentiate between intermediate hosts, which play a role in the per-petuation of the cycle, and accidental hosts, which are not involved in disease transmission.

Humans are considered an accidental host or simply a dead-end host.

Echinococcus multilocularisThe life cycle of E. multilocularis involves a definitive host and an intermediate host, each harboring different life stages of the parasite. Foxes, domestic dogs and other canids are the definitive hosts for the adult stage of the parasite. In these hosts the head of the tapeworm attaches to the intestinal tissue by hooks and suckers. It then produces hundreds of microscopic eggs, which are dispersed through the feces into the environment.

APPENDIX A

Photo A1. A hydiatic cyst in the liver

E. multilocularis produces many small cysts that spread throughout the internal organs of an infected human or animal. When canids eat infected intermediate hosts, it results in a heavy infestation of tapeworms and a new generation is soon dispersed.

Humans infected with E. multilocularis may be asymptomatic for tens of years. Following the asymptomatic period of this disease, commons symptoms are for instance headache and nausea. Eggs ingested by the intermediate host develop in the liver, lungs, and other organs to form multilocular cysts. The life cycle is completed after a canine consumes an intermediate host infected with cysts.

E. multilocularis is distributed in the northern hemisphere, including endemic regions in central Europe, most of northern and central Eurasia, parts of North America, and possibly an isolated focus in northern Africa (Tunisia). In central Europe, endemic areas were known to exist in only four countries by the end of the 1980s, but recent studies have revealed a much wider geographic range, including at least twelve countries (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Den-mark, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland).

The rapidly growing wolf and hybrid population constitutes the greatest threat to the health of our environment.

Echinococcus granulosusThe life cycle of Echinococcus granulosus parasite starts in the small intestine of a canid. However, more important roles are played by the intermediate hosts such as livestock and humans, where it causes cystic echinococcosis. The adult tapworm ranges in length from 2 mm to 7 mm and has three segments when intact: an immature segment, a mature segment and a gravid segment. The worm has four suckers on its head and a rostellum armed with hooks — the organs of attachment to the host’s intestinal wall.

In canids, E. granulosus causes a typical tapeworm infection, and it produces eggs that are passed with the canid’s feces. Each worm releases approximately 8000 eggs.

The intermediate hosts ingests the eggs as they are dispersed by the wind into the environment and attach to grass, leaves and berries. The eggs are dispersed on an area of 200 m from the feces and at a height of 2 meters.

Here again, in the intermediate host eggs hatch into larvae that travel through the blood and form hydatid cysts in the host’s tissues. These cysts can grow to

APPENDIX A

be the size of a basketball and may contain several smaller “balloons” inside the main cyst.

E. granulosus has a worldwide geographic distribution and occurs on all conti- nents. High parasite prevalences are found in the Mediterranean region, Russian Federation and adjacent independent states, and the People’s Republic of China.

The impact of E. granulosus on humans has been studied in Romania for a pe-riod of 10 years. It was shown, that of 8500 persons infected during that period, 500 died of this parasite.

Safety precautions and disinfectionAll personnel handling dogs, foxes and other carnivores known or suspected to be final hosts of Echinococcus species should be aware of the health risk both to themselves and to the general public. In areas with endemic echinococcosis, they should regard all definitive hosts as potentially infected. Furthermore, they should always treat any feces or other materials possibly contaminated with Echinococcus eggs under strict safety precautions. Safety precautions are also important in laboratory work and to some extent in clinical investigations.

Sources and routes of infectionEchinococcosis in humans usually results from the ingestion of Echinococcus eggs. This raises the possibility that infection may result from the inhalation of eggs with subsequent development in the lungs. Experimental studies with

Photo A2. An adult tapeworm

APPENDIX A

sheep support this possibility. On the other hand, it may well be that eggs are inhaled, then swallowed and transported to the intestinal tract.

Infection of humans with Echinococcus eggs may result from:

1. Handling infected definitive hosts, egg-containing feces or egg-contaminated plants or soil followed by direct hand-to-mouth transfer. It has been shown that eggs of Echinococcus adhere to the coats of dogs, particularly to the hairs around the anus and on the thighs, muzzles, and paws.

2. Ingestion of vegetables, salads, uncooked fruits, and other plants which have become contaminated directly with Echinococcus eggs. Foodstuffs or surfaces may possibly be secondarily contaminated with Echinococcus eggs via agents such as wind, birds, beetles and flies.

3. Drinking of water contaminated with Echinococcus eggs by feces of infected carnivores is a potential route of infection.

Inhalation of eggs in dust cannot be excluded as an infection route, but is less important.

ConclusionWolves and hybrids form the greatest threat scenario when feasting on gut piles infected with hydatid cysts that are left in the woods by humans or predators. As wolves and especially hybrids and feral dogs move into inhabited areas, eggs are dispersed close to yards and gardens, from which people will bring the eggs on their shoes into the house. Carpets and furniture will soon be hosting live, infectious eggs, and children will be especially affected. The cysts take about one decade to mature and another decade to grow to the size of an orange or grapefruit in humans.

The hydatid cysts of E. granulosus are treated with surgery, taking special care to leave the cyst intact so that new cysts do not form. Chemotherapy and cyst puncture have been used to replace surgery as effective treatments for cystic echinococcosis. Treatment varies with cyst characteristics, including type, loca-tion, size, and complications.

The alveolar echinococcosis caused by E. multilocularis requires chemotherapy with or without surgery. Effective treatment involves benzimidazoles adminis-tered continuously for at least 2 years, followed by monitoring of the patient for 10 years or more since recurrence is possible.

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B APPENDIX B

DNA - THE TOOLDNA testing or genetic fingerprinting has been known as a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. Other applications are recognized, such as evolutionary biology, where DNA is used in the study of the origin and descent of species, as well as their change over time. The question we will illuminate in this chapter is: what is the evidentiary value of DNA when evaluating wolves and hybrids?

DNA - DeoxyriboNucleic AcidDNA is a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in living organisms. The information in DNA is stored as a code consisting of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). The bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs.

Each base is also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule. To-gether, a base, sugar, and phosphate are called a nucleotide. Nucleotides are ar- ranged in two long strands that form a spiral called a double helix. The structure of the double helix is like a twisted ladder, with the base pairs forming the rungs and the sugar and phosphate molecules forming the vertical sidepieces.

Figure B1. DNA base pairs

APPENDIX B

The information is expressed by the order of the bases in a similar way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences. For instance, a stretch of DNA could be AATGACCAT - which would code for a different gene than a stretch that read: GGGCCATAG. In cells, there are billions of bases (nucleotides), which code for all the things an organism needs to function.

DNA can be seen as biological storage of information, and scientists have successfully stored both audio recordings and books on strands of synthetic DNA. They were able to both store and retrieve information without errors, and the results of these experiments were published in the journal Nature, January 23, 2013.

Within cells, DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes. Whenever a cell divides into two, its chromosomes are duplicated in a process called DNA

Figure B2. The nucleus of a cell

APPENDIX B

Figure B3. DNA replication

APPENDIX B

replication. Replication is necessary for an organism to grow or reproduce, be-cause every new cell needs a copy of the DNA to identify its functions. In fact, every cell in the body contains a copy of the organism’s entire DNA. DNA repli-cation is semi-conservative, which means that when it makes a copy, one half of the old strand is always kept in the new strand, where it serves as a template for the production of the complementary strand as shown in Figure B3.

RNA - RiboNucleic AcidRNA is a molecule within the cell’s nucleus. It contains chains of nucleotide bas-es similar to DNA, but with slightly different chemical properties. RNA contains information needed to create functional molecules called proteins. The type of RNA that contains the information for making a protein is called messenger RNA (mRNA) because it carries the information, or message, from the DNA out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm. The journey from gene to protein is complex and tightly controlled within each cell, and it consists of two major steps: tran-scription and translation. Together, transcription and translation are known as gene expression. During the process of transcription, the information stored in a gene’s DNA is transferred to a similar molecule called RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the cell nucleus. The second step, taking a gene to a protein, takes place in the cytoplasm.

A type of RNA called transfer RNA (tRNA) assembles the protein, one amino acid at a time. Protein assembly continues until the ribosome encounters a “stop mark” composed of a sequence of three bases. A sequence of three bases is called called a codon.

The flow of information from DNA to RNA to proteins is one of the fundamen-tal principles of molecular biology.

GenesA gene is a stretch of DNA that in most cases codes for a specific protein, and the gene is the basic unit of genetics. Dogs and wolves have from 20,000 to 30,000 genes, which account for only about 4 per cent of their total DNA. Genes influ-ence what dogs or wolves look like and how they behave.

Each cell expresses, “turns on,” only a fraction of its genes. The rest of the genes are turned off. The process of turning genes on and off is known as gene regulation. Gene regulation is an important part of normal development. Genes are turned on and off in different patterns during development to, for instance,

APPENDIX B

make a lung cell look and act differently from a heart cell. Gene regulation also allows cells to react quickly to changes in their environments.

ChromosomesIf we took the DNA from all the cells in our body and lined it up end to end, it would form a strand 6000 million miles long! To store all this material, DNA molecules are tightly packed around proteins called histones to form structures

called chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, or a total of 46, and canids have 39 pairs, or a total of 78 chromosomes. Of the pairs, 1 pair is the sex chromosome, which determines whether the individual is male or female, and

Figure B4. The organization of a chromosome

Figure B5. Mitochondrial DNA


the other pairs are autosomal chromosomes, which determine the rest of the body’s makeup.

The organization of a chromosome is shown in Figure B3, where the concatenated DNA sequences form a double helix that in turn makes up a chromosome. Each DNA sequence forms a gene.

Mitochondrial DNAThe mtDNA is located in organelles called mitochondria outside the nucleus, within cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use. Nearly all of the DNA in cells can be found in the cell nucleus (Figure B2).

In for instance humans, mitochondrial DNA can be assessed as the smallest chromosome, coding for only 37 genes and containing only about 16,600 base pairs. Human mitochondrial DNA was the first significant part of the human genome to be sequenced. In all mammals mtDNA is inherited solely from the mother.

The DNA sequence of mtDNA has been determined for a large number of or-ganisms and individuals. The mtDNA allows biologists to explain the evolu-

Figure B6. Maternal tree [55]

APPENDIX B

tionary relationships among species and has become important in anthropology and field biology.

Unlike nuclear DNA, which is inherited from both parents and in which genes are rearranged in the process of recombination, there is no change in mtDNA from mother to child.

Materlineality and mtDNAmtDNA allows descents to be traced through the mother and maternal ancestors. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers — a mother line. In this system an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as her or his mother — a matrilineal descent. The inverse of a matrilineal descent pattern is, for instance, the patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived.

Unlike nuclear DNA, which is inherited from both parents and in which genes are rearranged in the process of recombination, there is usually no change in mtDNA from parent to offspring. Although mtDNA also recombines, it does so with copies of itself within the same mitochondrion. Because of this and because the mutation rate of animal mtDNA is higher than that of nuclear DNA, mtDNA is a powerful tool for tracking ancestry through the matrilineage and has been used in this role to track the ancestry of many species back hundreds of generations. As seen in Figure B6, all women on the bottom line can be traced back to ancestor A using mtDNA. However, nothing is known about the ancestor B.

mtDNA was the first significant part of the human genome to be sequenced

MutationThe particular order of the pairs of As, Ts, Cs, and Gs is extremely important in DNA. Sometimes there is a mistake and one of the pairs gets switched, dropped, or repeated. This changes the coding for one or more genes and is called genetic mutation.

A genetic mutation is a permanent change in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene. It is duplicated in all cells that form as a result of division of the mutated cell and in all of their descendant cells. Mutations range in size from a single DNA base to a large segment of a chromosome. Gene mutations occur in two ways: they can be inherited from a parent or acquired during a person’s lifetime.


Mutations that are passed from parent to child are called hereditary mutations. Hereditary mutations are present throughout the life in virtually every cell in the body. Mutations that occur only in an egg or sperm cell, or those that occur just after fertilization, are called new mutations. New mutations explain some genetic disorders in which an offspring has a mutation in every cell, but there is no earlier history of that specific disorder.

Environmental factors like ultraviolet radiation cause mutations in the DNA of individual cells, as do errors in cell division. These are called somatic mutations.

Genetic changes that occur in more than 1 percent of the population are called polymorphisms. They are common enough to be considered a normal variation in the DNA. Polymorphisms are responsible for many of the normal differences between people such as eye color, hair color, and blood type. Although many polymorphisms have no negative effects on a person’s health, some of these variations may influence the risk of developing certain disorders. To function cor- rectly, each cell depends on thousands of proteins to do their jobs in the right places at the right times. Sometimes, gene mutations prevent one or more of these proteins from working properly.

Gene mutations that could cause a genetic disorder are sometimes repaired by certain enzymes before the gene is expressed and an altered protein is produced. Thus, DNA repair is an important process by which the body protects itself from diseases.

Figure B7. Single nucleotid polymorfism [David Hall]

APPENDIX B

A small percentage of all mutations may have a positive effect. In this case, mutations lead to new versions of proteins that help an individual adapt to changes in his or her environment. Some genetic changes are very rare; others are common in the population.

Genetic changes that occur in more than 1 percent of the population are called polymorphisms.

Figure B7 shows an example of one base pair being replaced by another. This type of mutation is called a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism.

The genetic mapIn order to describe the location of a particular gene on a chromosome, genetics uses maps and coding. One such map may use the cytogenetic location to describe a gene’s position, another type of map uses the molecular location, ie. a precise description of a gene’s position on a chromosome. The molecular location is based on the sequence of DNA building blocks (base pairs) that make up the chromosome.

The locus (plural loci) is the specific location of a gene or DNA sequence on a chromosome. A variant of the DNA sequence located at a given locus is called an allele. The ordered list of loci known for a particular genome is called a genetic map.

Gene mapping is the process of determining the locus for a particular biological trait. Locus is presented as codes where, for instance, the locus is written as “Xq/ pYZ.nn”. Here X refers to chromosome number, p = short arm or q = long arm, Y = region, Z = band and nn = sub band.

When comparing alleles from two different samples, we advance to the point indicated on the roadmap and compare the genes at these locations.

AllelesAn allele is one of a number of alternative forms of the same gene or group of genes. Different alleles may result in different observable phenotypic traits, for instance as different hair colors. Most genetic variations, however, result in little or no variation at the observable level.

Genotypic interactions between the two alleles at a locus can be described as dominant or recessive, according to which of the two homozygous genotypes the phenotype of the heterozygote most resembles. Where the heterozygote is


indistinguishable from one of the homozygotes, the allele involved is said to be dominant to the other, which is said to be recessive to the former.

A phenotype is not, however, the result of interactions of two alleles in a single loci, but rather the result of polygenic inheritance (and of course the environment). Polygenic inheritance occurs when one characteristic is controlled by two or more genes, as the genes are often large in quantity but small in effect.

This in turn gives inheritance a pseudo-random character, as dominance may vary within a trait with respect to its counterpart.

Genetic markersWe have already learned that there are billions of nucleotides in one cell and some DNA polymers can contain millions of these nucleotides. For instance, the largest human chromosome, number 1, consists of some 220 million base pairs.

Genetic markers are used:

1. to study a particular mutation of a gene that results in a defective protein;

2. in genealogical DNA testing to determine genetic distance between individuals or populations;

3. to study uniparental markers for assessing maternal or paternal lineages.

Uniparental markers are mitochondrial or Y chromosomal DNA.

DNA profilingDNA profiling is a technique used in identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles. A DNA profile is a set of numbers that reflect, for instance, a person’s DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person’s identifier. However,

A DNA profile does not include the whole genome; it is only a fraction of selected markers.

DNA profiling should not be confused with full genome sequencing, which is a laboratory process that determines the complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome. DNA profiling is used in parental testing and criminal investiga-tion, to name two applications.

APPENDIX B

Although 99.9% of DNA sequences are the same within a species, enough of the DNA is different to distinguish one individual from another — unless they are monozygotic twins.

VNTR - Variable Number Tandem RepeatVNTR is a sequence in a gene where a nucleotide sequence is organized as a tandem repeat, where a pattern of two or more nucleotides is repeated and the repetitions are adjacent to each other. A tandem repeat of ACCGTG consists of a number (n) of identical nucleotides concatenated together. VNTR alleles vary n instead of the nucleotide sequence, thus samples from different individuals

exhibit different values of n. Figure B8 shows 3 alleles with different values of n and Figure B9 allele lengths for 6 different individuals.

VNTR analysis is used in genetic and biological research, forensics, and DNA profiling. A typical VNTR application is the study of genetic diversity and breed-

ing patterns in populations of wild or domesticated animals.

During the replication of a tandem repeat, a mutation may occur. The mutation does not change the interpretation of VNTR, as the number (n) is significant.

Figure B9. VNTR allele lengths in 6 individuals [PaleWhaleGail]

Figure B8. Variable Number Tandem Repeat - 3 allels


When analyzing VNTR data, matching requires that both VNTR alleles from a specific location must match. If two samples are from the same individual, they must show the same allele pattern.

When matching an individual with his parents or children, one matching al-lele from each parent must be found. In more distant relationships, the matches must be consistent with the degree of relatedness.

Microsatellites and minisatellitesThere are two principal families of VNTRs: microsatellites and minisatellites. Mi-crosatellites are repeats of sequences less than about 5 base pairs in length, while minisatellites involve longer blocks. The description of Short Tandem Repeat (STR) and Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) are similar to that of microsatellites.

A microsatellite consists of units repeated hundreds of times in a row on the DNA strand, and STR analysis measures the exact number of repeating units by counting the length, not the number of repetitions.

DNA reliability and interpretationReverse genetics seeks to find what phenotypes arise as a result of particular genetic sequences, while forward genetics work in the opposite direction. Regard- less of the direction, this type of genetics works with observable phenotypes in order to discover different interactions between genotype and phenotype.

On order to, for instance, trace the genetic disorder causing Alzheimer’s disease, scientists compare the genes from people developing Alzheimer’s disease with others. Then, by analyzing differences in the genetic profile, it is possible to locate the chromosome and gene causing this specific disorder. The next step is about simple matching.

Matching samples with each other is what DNA analysis is all about

Forensic technicians match DNA evidence from a crime scene with samples stored in databases; biologists compare samples collected in the wild with sam-ples from known or defined populations. Whether the collected sample indi-cates positive for a desired trait, species or population depends on the reliability of the samples collected in the database.

A DNA sample in itself cannot be used to reconstruct any animal or organism as the phenotype is a (multifactorial) result of the environment and the genotype.

APPENDIX B

As a result,

everything we know about the genotype starts by collecting information about the phenotype.

Markers and reliabilityAlthough computer-based DNA sequencing generates large volumes of genomic sequence data, only a fraction of all information is used. Although the majority of the human genome is identical across all individuals, there are some regions of variation. Investigation into these regions reveals repeated units of DNA that vary in length among individuals. This particular type of repeat is the Short Tan- dem Repeat or microsatellite. STR is easily measured and compared between different individuals.

The FBI has, for instance, identified 13 core STR loci that are used in the iden-tification of human individuals in the United States, and Interpol has identified 10 standard loci for the United Kingdom and Europe. Nine STR loci have also been identified for Indian populations.

If we consider two randomly sampled individuals and compare their DNA profiles against each other using a 13 core STR, the possibility of these two persons having completely identical STR profiles is virtually zero. This fact makes DNA identification extremely reliable.

In cases where DNA samples are degraded and only fractions of the markers are identified, the possibility of false matches grow exponentially as the number of markers decrease.

In 2001 Kathryn Troyer ran a test of Arizona’s DNA database of felons and dis-covered two felons with DNA profiles where 9 of 13 markers were identical, despite the fact that one was white and one was black, and later she discovered dozens of other similar matches.

Another widely reported example of a coincidental match occurred in Britain in 1999.

A man was charged with burglary as a result of a ‘cold hit’ between his DNA profile and a crime scene profile on the United Kingdom’s national DNA data-base. The profiles matched at six loci along the DNA molecule, but there was no match upon subsequent comparison at ten loci. The match probability had been reported as one in 37 million.


The risk of obtaining a perfect match by coincidence is far higher when au-thorities search through millions of profiles looking for a match. For instance, consider the FBI’s National DNA Index System, which contains nearly 6 million profiles. What is the probability of finding a coincidental match?

What happens when databases grow and integrate, and billions of profiles are contained in the same database search?

The first of several thousands of potential matches might be convicted of a crime he or she did not commit.

Dog breed testsRussel McLendon, Mother Nature Network’s science editor, compared the results of two different commercial dog breed tests. The first one was carried out at BioPet Vetlab and the second one at Wisdom Panel. His intention was to discover the family tree of his mixed breed dog Otis.

BioPet Vetlabs reported pug, pekingese, beagle and bulldog. Wisdom Panel’s results were significantly different and the only breed that showed up in both tests was pug. Wisdom Panel found several new ones - Australian cattle dog and chow. Further, the Wisdom Panel recognized three of Otis’ ancestors as mixed breed.

Joshua Akey, Professor of Genome Sciences at the University of Washington, comments on the results. “In theory, DNA testing has pretty good power to say the breed origin of a particular dog,” he tells MNN. “You’re essentially looking for genetic markers that have very different allele frequency. One allele might have a high frequency in great danes, for example, and zero percent in chihua-huas.”

Dog breed testing laboratories uses databases covering 19 million marker analyses that let them identify 203 different breeds.

How do we classify the markers contained in a databases?

It all starts with a dog show and the phenotype of a dog

DNA, dogs and wolvesThe genetic variance between dogs and wolves is less than 1 %. That is to say, from the genetic point of view a dog is at least 99 % wolf. Most of the differences are in slight mutations in the control sequences for the genes that code for coat

APPENDIX B

color, coat texture, coat length, ear formation, body size, tail formation, eye col-or and some behavioral traits related to the genetics. Because of the extremely close genetic relationship between dogs and wolves, at today’s level of scientific understanding and technological capability,

dog ancestry beyond 3 generations is usually undetectable using DNA

Testing hybridsTesting hybrids, dogs, and wolves is carried out by: mtDNA, y-chromosome hap- lotype, wolf-specific DNA markers, and population analysis of DNA markers.

Females are tested with mtDNA as it is inherited through the maternal line. Us- ing mtDNA, it is possible to detect ancestry using previously recorded dog and wolf DNA. Again, mtDNA only reveals the species and breed through DNA of

know known ancestors. The Y-chromosome reports similar results for males.

STR markers (sometimes called microsatellites), can be compared with previously recorded markers specific to wolves and / or dogs.

Figure B10. Two family trees, red = male, yellow = female, black = domestic dog


Breeds and populations are tested with SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) markers. Genotype data is compared to databases containing samples from different dog breeds or known wolf populations.

Figure B10 describes the “family trees” of two overlapping populations. In the upper left corner we find a domestic dog (male) crossed with a pure female wolf. As a result, they have two male (red) wolves, one having pups with a female (dark yellow) in the left tree and the other having pups with a female in the right tree.

The dog-wolf hybrid test is valid only within 3 generations. Because of the close genetic relationship between dogs and wolves, wolf ancestry beyond 3 gener-ations is undetectable since the markers used do not cover the entire genetic sequence.

The tree on the right in Figure B10 illustrates the use of mtDNA. MtDNA anal-ysis allows us to trace the maternal line up to the upper rightmost wolf. Again, if DNA sequences from the ancestors are stored in a database, dog heritage may be found even if the tests go beyond 3 generations. MtDNA helps us recognize female ancestors but it does not tell us anything about dog heritage

What is the true reliability of DNA?Promoters of DNA testing have done a good job selling the public the idea that DNA testing uniquely identifies both humans and other species. In spite of this, we know that science is unable to create any complete organisms from DNA without the help of Mother Nature.

The lessons of using DNA to distinguish wolves from dogs and hybrids can only be learned by comparing variations in the genome with variations in the appear-ance, behavior, and other observable traits of the animals and recording those results for later analysis.

It is all about matchingDNA is the only method that consistently produces results that you can rely on with a fair level of confidence, when you’re seeking to determine whether or not a piece of evidence is connected with a particular source.

Thus, the reliability of DNA testing solely depends on the reliability of the source!

APPENDIX B

Forensic technicians cannot create a picture of a suspect using DNA found at a crime scene. They need to find a matching DNA sample to establish the con-nection.

Sources and reliabilityThe name, the authority, and selected methods of science can sometimes be mis-used (in the short term) to cherry-pick evidence in support of an arbitrary belief. I believe this is exactly what happened with the red wolf in the 1970’s.

After a “scientific” program of morphological evaluation and selection, the final truth was called the pure red wolf. In the red wolf recovery program, all animals released into the wild were genetically fingerprinted, and these “fingerprints” established the source for all subsequent DNA analysis.

In principle science is a self-correcting discipline, but it is difficult to see in this instance how one would prove that the red wolf is or is not a fabrication with no genuine lineage in natural history.

The red wolf is whatever biologists decided they wanted to call a red wolf

Did they create a new species? Have there been red wolves in the past, or are they simply hybrids of grey wolves and coyotes? Whatever happened in the past, human intervention created something we call Canis rufus. After reference data was collected into databases, it is possible using DNA analysis to prove that any wolf and coyote hybrid matching these “fingerprints” is a pure red wolf.

That is the power of DNA analysis in canid research

ConclusionsContaminated DNA samples are not our only concern. Another concern is the contamination of databases and reference libraries. There are examples of how “endangered species” have been reintroduced simply by using contaminated da-tabases and introducing possible hybrids raised by breeders — instead of allow-ing the original species to reproduce in the wild.

We know from experience that

1. Regardless of parental coloring, the coat of mixed-breed dogs and hybrids is often light-to-medium brown or black.


APPENDIX B

2. Crossbred offspring of German Shepherds usually share a similar facial shape and features.

In the eastern parts of Germany, we find wolves sharing a similar face shape with German Shepherds. Regardless of this clearly observable trait, these canids are designated pure wolves.

Black wolves in the USA have been traced back to domesticated dogs, but by have been classified as pure wolves by interpretation of DNA.

Reddish doglike canids in Finland and Scandinavia have been classified as pure grey wolves by interpretation of DNA.

So what does the current state of the art in interpreting canid DNA really reveal about species? If our scientists do not know what an actual wolf is supposed to look like, how will they know what wolf DNA is supposed to look like? Does the fact that an animal shares traits from only 18 locations with ancestors that are called pure wolves (but may in fact have been hybrids) prove that no critical and potentially dangerous dog genes would have been found at other locations in the genome, locations not included in the 18 currently examined?

Data requirements for the DNA records submitted to NDISIn order to avoid database contamination, the National DNA Index System (NDIS) has several requirements for the DNA data submitted to the database (source FBI).

1. The DNA data must be generated in accordance with the FBI Director’s Quality Assurance Standards;

2. The DNA data must be generated by a laboratory that is accredited by an approved accrediting agency;

3. The DNA data must be generated by a laboratory that undergoes an external audit every two years to demonstrate compliance with the FBI Director’s Quality Assurance Standards;

4. The DNA data must be one of the categories of data acceptable at NDIS, such as convicted offender, arrestee, detainee, legal, forensic (casework), un- identified human remains, missing person or a relative of missing person;

5. The DNA data must meet minimum CODIS Core Loci requirements for the specimen category;

6. The DNA PCR data must be generated using PCR accepted kits; and

Participating laboratories must have and follow expungement procedures in ac-cordance with federal law.

Data requirements for DNA records submitted to wolfs’ databases. The value of DNA analysis performed on wolves depends entirely on prior data submitted by biologists to the databases, but we have not been applying suffi-cient standards for the integrity of data submitted. I propose the adoption of formal standards aimed at assuring the validity and integrity of our canid DNA databases along the following lines.

The technical procedure for implementing and maintaining a database of wolf DNA should at least satisfy the following requirements.

1. The DNA data must be generated in accordance with some accepted Quality Assurance Standards (QAS);

2. The DNA data must be generated by a laboratory that is accredited by an approved accrediting agency;

3. The DNA data must be generated by a laboratory that undergoes an external audit every two years to demonstrate compliance with the QAS;

4. The source of the DNA data, ie. the wolf, should conform to an official species standard that covers the externally observable qualities of the animal, such as appearance, movement, and temperament. Only samples from wolves that conform to the standard are submitted to the database. Each sample in the database must contain pictures of the wolf;

5. The DNA data must meet minimum Loci requirements for the specimen category; and

6. The DNA PCR data must be generated using PCR accepted kits.

Using these rules when collecting database information allows us to track wolves and find populations of hybrids using DNA analysis.


APPENDIX B

The Grey Wolf Preserved to Extinction? Kaj Granlund

Documents

Transcript of The Grey Wolf Preserved to Extinction? Kaj Granlund