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African wolf a feral dog?

Posted by chinadavid on 15 Jun 2013 at 10:16 GMT

how can you be sure these African wolves are not feral dogs - their DNA is very similar.

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RE: African wolf a feral dog?

nilsst replied to chinadavid on 22 Jun 2013 at 14:37 GMT

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Thanks for the question. The DNA of African wolves and dogs is similar, but still easily distinguishable with the genetic markers used in the study. After we first discovered the African wolf DNA sequences from fecal samples we also had a photographer stalking canids in the study area. He filmed and sampled defecating individuals so that we could with certainty link the DNA to the right animal. Its morphology was very different from that of the local feral dogs. Unfortunately the footage was of too poor quality for publication.
Rueness et al.

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