In honor of International Darwin Day: from the wolf to the domestic dog

There are almost no researchers today who would disagree with the fact that the dog-in-the-wolf-version emerged, literally, from the thick of the forest, slowly approached man and began to be his life partner

By Tal Shulush

The wolf by all accounts is an independent animal, freed from any dependence, one that hunts alone, lives alone and manages on its own. The wolf is seen as strong, brave and tough - he does not need any help. Certainly not from other wolves. This amazing wild animal actually lives in packs for its entire life and leads a shared and full life, at a level that would make any average human family jealous.. These social traits explain well the strong connection that exists between the wolf and man and its becoming an inseparable part of our lives. To what extent is this an integral part? Just put the book down for a moment and look at the animal that is currently lying next to you, or listen to the barking of the dogs in the yard. This is the connection, which currently seems rather unclear and weak - what connection exists between the two? By all indications, the dog is the missing link. He is the link between the wild and independent wolf and the domestic man. Evidence of the presence of the domesticated dog exists already 12,000 years ago. According to estimates, even 20 thousand years ago and more, man used this faithful animal to hunt, guard, warn and deter. But has the dog always existed here? Has he walked by the side of man since the beginning of mankind's existence? Certainly not. This is an improved version - at least from the human angle - of the wolf.

From the forest to the carpet at your feet

Today it is already very difficult to contradict the assumption that the dog is a rapid evolutionary development of the wolf. In fact, there are almost no researchers today who would dispute the fact that the dog-in-the-wolf-version emerged, literally, from the thick of the forest, slowly approached man and began to be his life partner. Initially, the common image of man and an actual wild wolf was quite common, but over time the wild wolf became friendlier and more domestic, 'shedding' some of its most distinct inner and outer traits (with the help of a very deliberate hand on the part of man) - and evolved into the faithful domestic animal we all know today . Here is the place to dwell on the reasons that led to the wolf's domestication process, or in other words: why did this animal decide to leave the thicket of the forest and approach man? What made being by one's side so tempting, even more than the familiar and natural being in a group? You will be surprised to know, but most of the historical traces led the researchers to a very large accumulation of remains, unnecessary accessories and a lot of dirt and stench. You guessed it: the trash.

One man's trash is another man's treasure

Throughout human history and up to the beginning of the modern era that we know today, some sanitary standards were practiced that today are considered, to say the least, unacceptable. Until the industrial revolution, sewage treatment was almost non-existent, municipal systems for cleaning the streets were nothing more than a dream and when it came to garbage, it was every man for himself. This situation naturally caused a long series of epidemics and diseases, some of which were incurable at the time. The poor hygiene conditions were then, without a doubt, one of the highest causes of death in the world. But when a problem arises for one person, another person benefits: although during these times many people suffered horribly from the pollution that dominated large concentrations of population, but other people made the best of it. how? Due to the lack of laws, understandings and conventions regarding sanitation in densely populated areas, the garbage was not handled properly. The amount of people in certain places - castles, large cities, etc. - was enough to produce quite a bit of waste. Very quickly, the garbage became one of the most available 'treasures' in the world at the time: quantities of garbage of all kinds would be thrown on the sides of the street, thrown beyond the defense walls and eventually reach the open spaces of nature, which were much more common then than the first day we enjoyed it, Of course, there were the poor strata. Members of these strata stayed almost all day long near those piles of garbage, waiting for the next gift to arrive - leftovers that the more established strata no longer found use for. And everything was there: objects, furniture, work tools and of course - food of all kinds. Thanks to these reserves, the poor managed to survive. For them, it was a real treasure. But the availability of those reserves had an effect on another factor, which is always somewhere in man's near-distant environment: the animals. Although for us, the people of the modern era, the handling of garbage in those ancient times lacked any laws and fixed patterns of behavior, but for the animals there was one law that most people adhered to, and it undoubtedly worked in their favor. According to all signs, the food scraps slowly attracted many animals that lived in areas adjacent to those accumulations (forests, streams, rivers, grass deposits, etc.). What was initially seen as the arena for the poor to struggle only, became a fascinating meeting place between man, who can already be defined as a civilized and relatively 'domestic' human being, and the wild animals. And this meeting resulted in unexpected results, which affect us to this day.

Only the brave survive

From the moment the wolf discovered the piles of garbage accumulated by humans near his territory, there was a certain rapprochement between the two sides. More and more animals began to be seen in the vicinity of these fragrant storages, looking for available food and occasionally 'stealing' for themselves leftover food, in a moment of inattention on the part of the rivals, the poor of the city. It was a very simple craft for them, compared to the exhausting and complex hunting tasks in nature, which often involved pottery. At the same time as searching for food, the braver animals began to test the limits and understand where and when they can move around these sites without fear. Slowly they turned the piles of garbage into their second home (and sometimes the first) and enjoyed the abundance that suddenly fell on their lot. Naturally, with each meeting they began to trust their opponents a little more, who also began to understand that it is possible to benefit from the uninvited guests.

This is actually how the first connection between man and wolf was created, according to researchers' hypotheses. The picture began to clear up and became absolutely logical: as the random encounters around these hoards increased, man realized that he could benefit especially from the character of one animal, one of a kind - the wolf. The latter, for his part, acquired the man's trust, felt safe in his company and saw him as a partner. Not just a partner, but a full-fledged member, an integral part of his band. To the extent that. The choice of wolf is, by all accounts, an impressive animal. On the one hand, it is a beautiful and majestic animal. On the other hand, you can immediately see the dangerousness in him, the animal side that drives him to hunt and devour. It is the combination of these two sides in the wolf's 'personality' that has made him so desirable in the company of humans. As the relationship between the wolf and man warmed, the cooperation between them tightened. They began foraging, eating and hunting together, each using the other's advantages to obtain the best quality prey around and above all to survive. Man greatly benefited from the wolf's speed and strength, which allowed him to capture almost any potential prey that the wolf enjoyed from man's developed intelligence and wisdom, along with advanced hunting tools. As they socialized with each other, they realized how successful their combination was. Together, they became a deadly, powerful team.

back to the present. Back to the domestic and much loved dog

The amazing process that we have described so far is only the introduction to an even greater process: the evolution of the wild wolf living in homogeneous and 'natural' packs, to the domesticated dog living in a particularly strange pack - a pack in which most of the members and maybe even all of them are humans and not wolves like him. As mentioned, man and dog have known each other for about 20 thousand years, and maybe more. 20 thousand years of brave friendship, of joint hunting and of cooperation that probably does not and has not been equal in nature, at least between two species of animals that are so different. The acquaintance between the two is actually the starting point in the process of domesticating the wolf and turning it into the dog we all know. The benefit that this strange duo derived from each other, brought them to a great closeness. Not only did they take advantage of each other's advantages, but they also became emotionally close. The wolf became man's best friend and vice versa the closeness between the two revealed to man some very surprising things about his new friend. These things, although they were tiny and almost insignificant, are the ones that contributed most to the formation of the modern domestic dog, and to the creation of hundreds of different breeds and types of domestic dogs - from the fearsome Rottweiler to the tiny Chihuahua. And so, what began as an obscure series of apparently innocent and random events, will turn in a short time (in historical terms of course) into one of the most amazing evolutionary processes that nature has ever known.

This article was written by Tal Shloush, CEO of the Dog and Human Center