The Japanese wolf

vogelcommando said:
Found this very intresting serie about the Japanese wolf :

In search of Japan's lost wolves: Primal howl

In search of Japan's lost wolves: Chance encounter

In search of Japan's lost wolves: Zoological mystery

In search of Japan's lost wolves: Territorial threat

In search of Japan's lost wolves: Enduring legacy
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As far as chronicling the history of Japan's wolves go and raising awareness of this these articles are great.

But I question the people who apparently believe that wolves are still out there and I wonder if this is the Japanese equivalent of the Thylacine obsession in Tasmania / Australia.

Far better to honour the species through recognition that they once existed and then to throw energy into the Conservation of still extant but endangered Japanese species IMO.
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
As far as chronicling the history of Japan's wolves go and raising awareness of this these articles are great.

But I question the people who apparently believe that wolves are still out there and I wonder if this is the Japanese equivalent of the Thylacine obsession in Tasmania / Australia.

Far better to honour the species through recognition that they once existed and then to throw energy into the Conservation of still extant but endangered Japanese species IMO.
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I've seen the photos before but there are a couple more here. I am sure this is some sort of dog, it hasn't really got a wolf-like physique or coat, is stockier than a wolf and only a superficial resemblance to one. And its behaviour- trotting around unconcerned by a road and he was near enough to offer it food? Sounds very unwolf-like.
 
Pertinax said:
I've seen the photos before but there are a couple more here. I am sure this is some sort of dog, it hasn't really got a wolf-like physique or coat, is stockier than a wolf and only a superficial resemblance to one. And its behaviour- trotting around unconcerned by a road and he was near enough to offer it food? Sounds very unwolf-like.
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Definitely agree and many of the Japanese (and Korean) dog breeds have a very superficial / tentative wolf like appearance like huskies.

I'm sure that this was an unremarkable stray or runaway canis familiaris from someone's home.
 
Here is another relevant article about Japanese wolves (Canis lupus hodophilax).

Extinct Japanese wolf is the closest wild relative of dogs yet found

The Japanese wolf is more closely related to the ancestor of dogs than any other wolves found so far, according to a study that sequenced the genomes of nine museum specimens of the species, which went extinct more than a century ago.

“I did not expect this conclusion at all,” says
Yohey Terai at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan.

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...-the-closest-wild-relative-of-dogs-yet-found/
 
Interesting.

Could it also be explained by an alternative theory - that Japanese wolf was in fact descendant of very early dometicized dogs?
 
Jana said:
Interesting.

Could it also be explained by an alternative theory - that Japanese wolf was in fact descendant of very early dometicized dogs?
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Interesting question. What would make you see that as a possibility?
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Interesting question. What would make you see that as a possibility?
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Geography. The article mentions it got separated from other wolf lineages only 16k years ago. But southern Japanese islands where it lived had last landbridge with Asian continent much earlier, wikipedia said 430k. Unless it swam oversea itself from Korea, it should be brought by people.
 
Jana said:
Geography. The article mentions it got separated from other wolf lineages only 16k years ago. But southern Japanese islands where it lived had last landbridge with Asian continent much earlier, wikipedia said 430k. Unless it swam oversea itself from Korea, it should be brought by people.
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Wow, thank you. This makes perfect sense.
 
Jana said:
Geography. The article mentions it got separated from other wolf lineages only 16k years ago. But southern Japanese islands where it lived had last landbridge with Asian continent much earlier, wikipedia said 430k. Unless it swam oversea itself from Korea, it should be brought by people.
Click to expand...

Wolves could walk on sea ice.
 
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