From a Vixen to a Bitch

In the article about the Stray Dogs of Moscow there are two interesting observations: the stray dogs develop a similar look and they are in the behavioral process or returning to their wild ancestors, the wolves. There is an equally enlightening article in the Times – The truth dogs reveal about evolution by Richard Dawkins who points to the fact that every single dog on earth evolved from a domesticated wolf. It’s fascinating that in a relatively short period of time the dogs have been bred to be distinctly different not only from their ancestors but also to have little resemblance between the breeds, as if there are different species. To illustrate his point Richard Dawkins describes the foxes breeding experiment by Dimitri Belyaev. Amazing how a similar genetic structure can produce so many variations rapidly.

Tagged as: animals, evolution, genetics, science