Dogs
Dogs are regarded to be one of the oldest friends of men and they have been revered in many civilizations. Right from Egyptians to Greeks, everywhere dogs have been held with high regards for their faithfulness and intelligence. The Greek philosopher Socrates described his dog as a "true philosopher". The evolution of dogs is a subject of great research amongst zoologists. Over the course of thousands of years, dogs have evolved in many forms and they have spread all across the world. Being present in almost all major civilizations, they have been transferred to all parts of the world, leading to tremendous number of breeds. Numerous kinds of dogs have been crossed to produce different dogs, with varied characteristics.
History and Evolution of Dogs
A large number of studies by different scientists have proved it that modern day dogs are descendants of wolves. It is said that tens of thousands of years ago, the domestication of wolves was an integral part of many civilizations in East Asia. In fact, nowadays, keeping wolves as pets is a hobby for many animal lovers. Wolves were useful for human establishments because they provided food, fur and security for crops from birds and other animals. Even some breeds of wolves were easy to interact with humans over the course of years. Some other prominent reasons in support of the evolution of dogs from wolves is that wolves share same habitats and hunting habits like dogs. It is said the cross breeding of different types of wolves led to more domesticated species of wolves, who were tolerant and social enough to stay in close proximity with humans.
Some possibly reasons for domestication of wolves have been given by archaeologists and animal scientists. As per their views, thousands of years ago, fierce wolves who posed threats for human communities were killed for security reasons. However, their cubs or small ones were not killed and they were allowed to grow up within the community. The cubs naturally grew up to be more domesticated and less violent. By living in communities of people as well as with other wolves, many species of wolves were domesticated. This is given as a major reason for evolution of dogs from different breeds of wolves.
Another reason that indicates the dog evolution from wolves is the same behavior when it comes to feeding habits. Many wild wolves had the habit of feeding on left over foods and also on bones at human camp sites. Dogs just like wolves have a craving for bones and even they also have habits of checking left over foods.
Some scientists agree to the fact that owing to large-scale domestication of cubs who grew into friendly wolves, the wilder population of wolves was shadowed. Moreover, owing to extensive cross breeding, there were genetic evolution amongst many breeds of wolves resulted in modern-day dogs. Also, many archaeologists have suggested that wolves had the habit of following migration patterns of humans, thereby bringing them closer to human settlements.
There have been significant differences in the characteristics of dogs over the thousands of years of evolutionary progress. Some of the most prominent features of dogs that have become completely different from wolves are the size of body, color changes in skin, shorter jaws, smaller teeth and shrinking of the brain. Wolves that existed thousands of years ago were excellent hunters and possessed amazing alertness levels.
However, evolution of dogs in the last thousands of years has made them less intelligent as compared to wolves. Similarly, wolves possess tail wagging habits only for some time, in dogs it is carried throughout the live. Certainly, evolution of dogs timeline, goes back to 15,000 years ago, when dogs were started to be domesticated. Their evolution is certainly a classic example of diversification of a single species into so many breeds.
- The Role Carbs Played In The Evolution Of Dogs
By Linda Cole Scientists are still trying to unravel the mystery behind how wolves evolved into dogs. It happened so long ago, the only evidence scientists have to work with is in archaeological research into how humans evolved and fossilized teeth and...
- New Research Explains Why Dogs Aren't Wolves
By Linda Cole I admire the spirit of wolves, an animal who has found the world to be a hostile place, even though man has embraced a species that was born from them. There are similarities between dogs and wolves, but dogs are not wolves. The reason why...
- Are All Dogs Descendants Of Wolves?
By Linda Cole Through responsible breeding and centuries of domestication, dogs are certainly man's best friend. But how much of their ancestral instincts have dogs maintained even with continued breeding that has calmed ancient instincts? I sometimes...
- The History Of Dog Breeding
Humans have maintained populations of useful animals around their places of habitat since pre-historic times. Over these millennia, domesticated dogs have developed into distinct types, or groups, such as livestock guardian dogs, hunting dogs, and sighthounds....
- Learn About A Dying Species - Facts About Wolves
When man was young on the Earth, millions of wolves roamed world wide. Today, due to centuries of hunting for sport, be it legal or illegal, there are little more than 300,000 wolves left in the world. Wolves are the largest of the canine breed and are...
Dogs
Evolution of Dogs
Dogs are regarded to be one of the oldest friends of men and they have been revered in many civilizations. Right from Egyptians to Greeks, everywhere dogs have been held with high regards for their faithfulness and intelligence. The Greek philosopher Socrates described his dog as a "true philosopher". The evolution of dogs is a subject of great research amongst zoologists. Over the course of thousands of years, dogs have evolved in many forms and they have spread all across the world. Being present in almost all major civilizations, they have been transferred to all parts of the world, leading to tremendous number of breeds. Numerous kinds of dogs have been crossed to produce different dogs, with varied characteristics.
History and Evolution of Dogs
A large number of studies by different scientists have proved it that modern day dogs are descendants of wolves. It is said that tens of thousands of years ago, the domestication of wolves was an integral part of many civilizations in East Asia. In fact, nowadays, keeping wolves as pets is a hobby for many animal lovers. Wolves were useful for human establishments because they provided food, fur and security for crops from birds and other animals. Even some breeds of wolves were easy to interact with humans over the course of years. Some other prominent reasons in support of the evolution of dogs from wolves is that wolves share same habitats and hunting habits like dogs. It is said the cross breeding of different types of wolves led to more domesticated species of wolves, who were tolerant and social enough to stay in close proximity with humans.
Some possibly reasons for domestication of wolves have been given by archaeologists and animal scientists. As per their views, thousands of years ago, fierce wolves who posed threats for human communities were killed for security reasons. However, their cubs or small ones were not killed and they were allowed to grow up within the community. The cubs naturally grew up to be more domesticated and less violent. By living in communities of people as well as with other wolves, many species of wolves were domesticated. This is given as a major reason for evolution of dogs from different breeds of wolves.
Another reason that indicates the dog evolution from wolves is the same behavior when it comes to feeding habits. Many wild wolves had the habit of feeding on left over foods and also on bones at human camp sites. Dogs just like wolves have a craving for bones and even they also have habits of checking left over foods.
Some scientists agree to the fact that owing to large-scale domestication of cubs who grew into friendly wolves, the wilder population of wolves was shadowed. Moreover, owing to extensive cross breeding, there were genetic evolution amongst many breeds of wolves resulted in modern-day dogs. Also, many archaeologists have suggested that wolves had the habit of following migration patterns of humans, thereby bringing them closer to human settlements.
There have been significant differences in the characteristics of dogs over the thousands of years of evolutionary progress. Some of the most prominent features of dogs that have become completely different from wolves are the size of body, color changes in skin, shorter jaws, smaller teeth and shrinking of the brain. Wolves that existed thousands of years ago were excellent hunters and possessed amazing alertness levels.
However, evolution of dogs in the last thousands of years has made them less intelligent as compared to wolves. Similarly, wolves possess tail wagging habits only for some time, in dogs it is carried throughout the live. Certainly, evolution of dogs timeline, goes back to 15,000 years ago, when dogs were started to be domesticated. Their evolution is certainly a classic example of diversification of a single species into so many breeds.
- The Role Carbs Played In The Evolution Of Dogs
By Linda Cole Scientists are still trying to unravel the mystery behind how wolves evolved into dogs. It happened so long ago, the only evidence scientists have to work with is in archaeological research into how humans evolved and fossilized teeth and...
- New Research Explains Why Dogs Aren't Wolves
By Linda Cole I admire the spirit of wolves, an animal who has found the world to be a hostile place, even though man has embraced a species that was born from them. There are similarities between dogs and wolves, but dogs are not wolves. The reason why...
- Are All Dogs Descendants Of Wolves?
By Linda Cole Through responsible breeding and centuries of domestication, dogs are certainly man's best friend. But how much of their ancestral instincts have dogs maintained even with continued breeding that has calmed ancient instincts? I sometimes...
- The History Of Dog Breeding
Humans have maintained populations of useful animals around their places of habitat since pre-historic times. Over these millennia, domesticated dogs have developed into distinct types, or groups, such as livestock guardian dogs, hunting dogs, and sighthounds....
- Learn About A Dying Species - Facts About Wolves
When man was young on the Earth, millions of wolves roamed world wide. Today, due to centuries of hunting for sport, be it legal or illegal, there are little more than 300,000 wolves left in the world. Wolves are the largest of the canine breed and are...