Wildlife & Biodiversity

Citizen scientists find first evidence of wolf-dog hybridisation in India

Researchers say such scenarios could drive these wild populations into a hybridisation vortex which eventually result in extinction via hybridisation  

 
By Himanshu Nitnaware
Published: Saturday 20 May 2023

The tawny individual that is a suspected wolf-dog as photographed by researchers near Pune. Photo: Siddhesh BramhankarThe tawny individual that is a suspected wolf-dog as photographed by researchers near Pune. Photo: Siddhesh Bramhankar

Citizen scientists and researchers have found the first evidence of wolf-dog hybridisation in the country.

The findings, Citizen science facilitates first ever genetic detection of wolf-dog hybridization in Indian savannahs, published on May 4 claimed that wolf (Canis lupus)-dog (Canis lupus familiaris) hybridisation may lead to immense reduction of certain adaptations in wolves eventually causing a drop in wolf populations.

According to the authors Abhinav Tyagi, Mihir Godbole, Abi Vanak and Uma Ramakrishnan, the research is the first evidence in the country of such hybridisation.

The authors noted that a suspected wolf-dog hybrid animal with an unusually tawny coat was captured in a photograph by a group of nature lovers near Pune in Maharashtra.

The citizen researchers observed that the individual looked different from others in the wolf pack. They followed the animal and collected the hair strands which were shed by it.

The samples were then used to extract DNA and processed for segregating, identifying, pressing and following other scientific protocols.

The researchers then used 11 wolf whole genomes that consisted of three from North America and Europe. Another three were from west and central Asia and the remaining five were from Indian wolves.

They also used 16 dog genomes for anaylsing samples including dogs from Kenya, Nepal, India, China and east Asia. The scientists also investigated the species for admixture with golden jackals and dholes using three genomes.

The results revealed the occurrence of wolf-dog hybridisation in peninsular India with pictures showing evidence of dog genome introgression in the wolf population.

Vanak said though the concept of wolf-dog hybridisation was long speculated in India, no published report or evidence existed. “As per our knowledge, despite having information on mating events among wolf and dogs, no such reports are known which also confirm this through genetic analysis,” he said.

Vanak added poor detection rates and low availability of laboratories to integrate field sampling with conservation genomics may be the reason for the same.

The authors said such hybridisation is complex among canid species. “Both sexes of canid hybrids are fertile, in contrast to the other mammalian species where males are sterile with very few exceptions. This makes the introgression of dog genome into wolves and vice versa possible,” the paper stated.

Ramakrishnan said, “High population turnover and loss of breeding members in addition to the above-mentioned complexity may cause the break-up of wolf packs and disruption of social structure. Such factors can also further increase hybridisation rates.”

However, these scenarios could drive these wild populations into a hybridisation vortex which eventually result in extinction via hybridisation.

The researchers pressed the need to upscale conservation efforts through tracking, monitoring, assessing prey base, understanding the relation between humans and wildlife, given that human-wildlife interaction is extensive in India.

Ramakrishnan said the results from the research offer crucial information that can help understand the relation between wolves and dogs and their interaction and can lead the way for conservation.

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