Nearly Half of Italy’s Wolves Are Part Dog Now, Thanks to Hybridization. Is That a Threat to the Species?
From SmithsonianMag.com:
Between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago, a now-extinct population of wolves evolved into dogs, with a little help from humans. Today—at least in Italy, which hosts one of Europe’s largest wolf populations—genes are flowing in the opposite direction.
Recent genetic testing suggests that, particularly in the country’s central and southern regions, nearly half of the wild wolves (Canis lupus) are actually wolf-dog hybrids.
