We have seen that there is no authenticated instance of a hybrid
between the dog and the fox. This is not the case with the dog and
the wolf, or the dog and the jackal, all of which can interbreed.
Moreover, their offspring are fertile. Pliny is the authority for
the statement that the Gauls tied their female dogs in the wood that
they might cross with wolves. The Eskimo dogs are not infrequently
crossed with the grey Arctic wolf, which they so much resemble, and
the Indians of America were accustomed to cross their half-wild dogs
with the coyote to impart greater boldness to the breed. Tame dogs
living in countries inhabited by the jackal often betray the jackal
strain in their litters, and there are instances of men dwelling in
lonely outposts of civilisation being molested by wolves or jackals
following upon the trail of a bitch in season.
These facts lead one to refer to the familiar circumstance that the
native dogs of all regions approximate closely in size, coloration,
form, and habit to the native wolf of those regions. Of this most
important circumstance there are far too many instances to allow of
its being looked upon as a mere coincidence. Sir John Richardson,
writing in 1829, observed that "the resemblance between the North
American wolves and the domestic dog of the Indians is so great that
the size and strength of the wolf seems to be the only difference.
I have more than once mistaken a band of wolves for the dogs of a
party of Indians; and the howl of the animals of both species is
prolonged so exactly in the same key that even the practised ear of
the Indian fails at times to discriminate between them."
As the Eskimo and Indian dogs resemble the North American wolf, so
the dog of the Hare Indians, a very different breed, resembles the
prairie wolf. Except in the matter of barking, there is no difference
whatever between the black wolf-dog of the Indians of Florida and
the wolves of the same country. The same phenomenon is seen in many
kinds of European dogs. The Shepherd Dog of the plains of Hungary
is white or reddish-brown, has a sharp nose, short erect ears, shaggy
coat, and bushy tail, and so much resembles a wolf that Mr. Paget,
who gives the description, says he has known a Hungarian mistake a
wolf for one of his own dogs. Many of the dogs of Russia, Lapland,
and Finland are comparable with the wolves of those countries. Some
of the domestic dogs of Egypt, both at the present day and in the
condition of mummies, are wolf-like in type, and the dogs of Nubia
have the closest relation to a wild species of the same region, which
is only a form of the common jackal. Dogs, it may again be noted,
cross with the jackal as well as with wolves, and this is frequently
the case in Africa, as, for example, in Bosjesmans, where the dogs
have a marked resemblance to the black-backed jackal, which is a South
African variety.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account