WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:00.960 Get value. 2 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.439 You can't argue with at Tesco with their amazing club 3 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:06.200 card prices. Have the perfect night in with their finest 4 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:09.199 frozen pizza meal deal. Get the finest frozen pizza, chips 5 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.119 and ice cream all for six euro like our delicious 6 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:15.839 spicy Salami, hot Honey and Doya or Margarito wood fired pizzas, 7 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.920 served up with their crispy chunkie chips and ice cream 8 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.960 like Sea Salt de Caramel or pistachio for dessert. Can't 9 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:25.879 argue with that shelp in store or online Tesco. Every 10 00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:28.960 little helps available in most stories, prices very in express. 11 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:32.719 Oh hi, it's that French fry that fell under the 12 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:36.079 driver's side seat three days ago, and you can't decide 13 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:37.679 if you want to eat it or not. 14 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:39.640 Maybe I don't know. 15 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:44.159 Ali Ward back with another episode of smologies or small ologies. 16 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:48.039 Get it small ologies. So this is our six somologies episode, 17 00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:50.320 And if you're looking for any of the previous smologies 18 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:53.560 you'll find them in this feed or at Alleyward dot 19 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.119 com slash smologies. But what is asmology? There's a great question. 20 00:00:58.240 --> 00:01:01.600 So smologies are quicker, kid and work and in law 21 00:01:01.679 --> 00:01:05.000 and classroom friendly edits of our full ologies episodes and 22 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:07.560 they clock in around twenty minutes, so all the good stuff, 23 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:09.359 but with less of a commitment. It's perfect for those 24 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:10.879 of you that are returning to the office and have 25 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.280 a short commute. Maybe you're on a holiday road trip 26 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:15.840 and you need something to keep the whole family occupied. 27 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.000 Speaking of holidays, November twenty third, this Tuesday is wolf 28 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.799 in neut What you have not heard of? Wolfanut? You 29 00:01:22.799 --> 00:01:24.799 haven't heard of it? Really, then you haven't listened to 30 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:27.840 the longer full version of Lupinology. So I'll summarize. So 31 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:29.959 it's a holiday started by a seven year old to 32 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:33.840 celebrate canines and kindness. It's when the spirit of the 33 00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:37.519 wolf brings and hides small gifts around the house for everyone, 34 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:41.000 and people who have had, or have or are kind 35 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:43.799 to dogs get better gifts than anyone else. You eat 36 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.640 roasted meat or vegetables and a cake decorated like a 37 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.640 full moon. So in twenty nineteen I had a wolf 38 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:53.359 neut party and I hid gift rep socks around the house. 39 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:56.480 It was lit. It was the best ten out of ten. 40 00:01:57.159 --> 00:02:01.000 Ho Okay, So today's episode is on Upanology, or the 41 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:04.640 study of wolves and the word comes from the Latin lupis, 42 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.319 meaning wolf. But if you ask loupinologists what their job 43 00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:10.240 title is, they will probably refer to themselves as a 44 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:14.759 wolf biologist. But let's be honest, lupinologist, this sounds way 45 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:18.719 way cooler, much more regal. So today's lupinologist is an 46 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:23.280 associate professor of evolutionary genomics and epigenetics at Princeton University, 47 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:25.919 where she runs the von Holt Lab of Ecology and 48 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.159 Evolutionary Biology. She got her bachelor's degree in psychology from 49 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:34.000 Eckard University, her masters from NYU in biology, and got 50 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.280 her PhD, making her a doctor from the University of California, 51 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:41.479 Los Angeles in ecology and evolutionary biology. And she guided 52 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:45.400 us through the incredible world of wolves, including what makes 53 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:48.680 a wolf a wolf? Wolfy DNA, is there a connection 54 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:52.199 between wolves and howling at the moon, the realities of 55 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:56.240 pack dynamics, how they hunt, the idea of a lone wolf, 56 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:00.439 and how dogs, coyotes, jackals, hyenas and wolf wolves are 57 00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:04.400 all related. So Circle November twenty third, dream up a 58 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:07.120 full mooncake and prepare to celebrate wolf nut as we 59 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:11.960 duck into the wolf's den and welcome wolf biologist and lupinologist, 60 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:15.319 doctor Bridget von Holtz. And yes, that was my dog 61 00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:18.879 shaking her collar in the background. O Gby. She loves 62 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:39.479 this episode. God ology, What is a wolf? What's the 63 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:41.520 difference between a wolf and a coyote and a big 64 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:44.520 fox and a domestic dog? Genetically speaking? 65 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:49.759 Oh, okay, genetically well, so all of these animals are 66 00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:56.719 are carnivores. They're in carnivora, and that means that there's 67 00:03:56.759 --> 00:03:59.400 a defining feature to be a carnivor. And this is 68 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:04.680 usually talking about skeletal shape and cranial shape and teeth morphology. 69 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.840 So to eat meat, you have to have certain physiology, 70 00:04:07.960 --> 00:04:10.400 you have to have certain tea structure to cut and 71 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.080 share that meat. There's usually some old faction and visual 72 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:17.360 sense in terms of being a predator that eats has 73 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:21.959 a meat based diet. Within carnivora, we're going to focus 74 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:28.800 on more of the canine related families and species Foxes, coyotes, 75 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:35.199 doglike species. They do have common ancestors, so they do 76 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:42.279 arise from this ancestral carnivore. The ecology that has shaped 77 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:47.839 each of these lineages, their diet, their social nature, all 78 00:04:47.920 --> 00:04:49.240 of this variation. 79 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:50.000 Is quite incredible. 80 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:54.639 So wolves, broadly speaking, live across much of the northern 81 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:56.959 parts of all of the continents. This is called a 82 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.279 whole Arctic distribution. We usually find the in temperate or 83 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:07.519 much more higher latitudes. Coyotes are a North American evolved 84 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:11.360 canine species, so you only find coyotes in North America. 85 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:17.560 Jackals are also the Eurasian version, basically that we don't 86 00:05:17.560 --> 00:05:20.360 have jackals that evolved in North America. They are both 87 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:23.639 a little bit smaller typically than a gray wolf. They 88 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.959 live in a very different type of ecology, So if 89 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:30.240 we focus on North America, which is the continent, I'm 90 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:30.879 a little. 91 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:33.240 Better at coyotes and wolves. 92 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:36.879 Though they both live on this continent, they do essentially 93 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:41.639 segregate out based on habitat and the presence of the other. 94 00:05:41.879 --> 00:05:45.800 Coyotes don't typically live in a pack structure, although they 95 00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:49.279 have been known to form packs over the course of 96 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:55.279 their evolution, but typically coyotes mate as a pair and 97 00:05:56.120 --> 00:06:00.240 don't really form any larger groups than that have a 98 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:04.480 much larger group, they will predate on much larger species, 99 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:10.879 and they competitively take larger prey, whereas coyote might come 100 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.000 up and then try to steal whatever prey or carcass 101 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.439 items are left from a wolf, and that's where conflict 102 00:06:17.480 --> 00:06:18.399 will usually. 103 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:20.519 Happen like go on my angle. 104 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:24.839 And wolves are known to kill coyote. Alternatively, coyotes can 105 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.000 gang up and kill wolves, especially if it's injured or 106 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:32.600 malnourished or young, So there is competition between those two species. 107 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:38.439 So wolves, coyotes, jackals, foxes, and dogs share a common ancestry, 108 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:42.160 diverging many millions of years ago. But this is lupinology, 109 00:06:42.360 --> 00:06:45.560 not jackology. So back to wolves and how big is 110 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:49.160 a wolf? What kind of dog size would you compare 111 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:49.439 it to? 112 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:54.519 Well, actually, malamutes can be much larger than wolves, So yeah, 113 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:57.000 I've seen malamutes well over one hundred and twenty pounds 114 00:06:57.279 --> 00:07:00.839 and wolves wolves can be very close to that size, 115 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:03.759 but generally you can get them anywhere from eighty pounds 116 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:04.759 upwards to. 117 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:06.439 One hundred one hundred and twenty. 118 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:11.600 So dogs can be larger than wolves, but also we've 119 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:15.839 bred them to be incredibly large, and maybe their diets 120 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.240 have something to do with it whether or not they're larger. 121 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:22.600 But wolves are pretty substantial creatures. 122 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.199 Okay, so how many species of wolves are They're all 123 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.399 over the world. I had no idea, like a hundred 124 00:07:29.399 --> 00:07:32.040 species I don't know, and I thought i'd get a 125 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:35.000 clean answer. But a holy moly, is it herky? Jerky 126 00:07:35.160 --> 00:07:38.839 and murky. So if you like drama, you will love wolves. Man. 127 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:41.279 So I rolled up my yellow sweater sleeves and I 128 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:46.720 dug in to find three What on earth. 129 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:47.160 Did you know this? 130 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:51.199 Okay, first, let's just be be back this puppy up. 131 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:56.720 So the genus Canus includes jackals and coyotes, and wolves 132 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:00.439 and doggos and dingoes and even the dire wolf, which 133 00:08:00.439 --> 00:08:02.600 has been extinct for roughly ten thousand years. Don't let 134 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:05.120 George R. R. Martin plenty wool over your eyes. Dire wolf 135 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.279 two words as a real animal, an extinct dire wolf 136 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:12.040 one word Game of Thrones fiction. Okay, So, the alive 137 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:16.000 species of wolf on the planet include the African golden wolf, 138 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:19.319 the Ethiopian wolf, and in North America and across Eurasia 139 00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:24.480 Canus lupus. Now America, studies have shown we gout one 140 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:28.399 wolf Canis lupus, the gray wolf, plus a bunch of subspecies. 141 00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:31.879 So the timberwolf, that's a gray wolf, Arctic wolf, gray wolf, 142 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:36.240 Mexican wolf, this gray wolf, the extinct Oregonian brown wolf 143 00:08:36.240 --> 00:08:39.480 that's a gray wolf, the buffalo wolf or loafer wolf, 144 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:41.960 which was hunted to extinction nineteen twenty six. It's also 145 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:44.720 Canis lupus that's a grey wolf. Okay, there's also a 146 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:47.639 red wolf in the Carolinas. And here is where wolf 147 00:08:47.720 --> 00:08:51.840 experts throw down. So there is a ton of debate 148 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:54.399 that's gone on for decades and decades about if the 149 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:58.399 smaller ruddy wolf of the American southeast is its own 150 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:01.919 species and thus protected, or a hybrid of a gray 151 00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:04.559 wolf in a coyote and thus should be vulnerable to 152 00:09:04.600 --> 00:09:08.000 more hunting. As it stands in twenty nineteen, it's endangered, 153 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.519 but it's protected and is considered its own species. But 154 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:14.840 many scientists are like, ugh is it though a lot 155 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:17.240 of DNA says it's a hybrid. So there you have it. 156 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:19.679 Three and half. 157 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:23.120 Ish species of wolves, and in North America the gray 158 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:26.399 wolf is endemic, meaning it is native here. So now 159 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:29.559 let's move on to how wolves relate to one another. 160 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:31.639 Let's talk family dynamics first. 161 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:34.679 So if we back up, we have this expectation that 162 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:39.600 wolves travel in family groups, or at least groups of relatives, 163 00:09:40.120 --> 00:09:44.440 and the success of a particular individual is highly dependent 164 00:09:44.519 --> 00:09:48.679 upon having group members with it, so pack members. Most 165 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.120 of the livelihood of wolves depends upon multiple individuals coordinated 166 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:59.039 in their social hunting and also cooperative raising of young 167 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:00.320 and and. 168 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:01.279 Caring for each other. 169 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:05.399 So the goal was to identify some source populations in 170 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:09.879 Canada and capture live capture a handful of individuals so 171 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:15.399 we potentially maintain this pack cohesion. Where upon release somewhere, 172 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:20.960 these animals still maintain their group structure, still potentially had 173 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:24.600 higher success as a group than you would find if 174 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:28.360 you released one wolf somewhere on its own in the 175 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:31.159 middle of a brand new place. How long do wolves live, 176 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:35.679 So in captivity they can live quite a while in 177 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:39.639 this little posh luxury element of being given food and 178 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:44.440 the safety in Yellowstone, there's usually a mortality rate at 179 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:48.440 about four and a half years. That two to four 180 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:52.279 and a half is an average lifespan, depending upon again 181 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:56.159 what's the cause of mortality. There's a lot of intra 182 00:10:56.360 --> 00:11:01.000 specific mortality, which means that wolves kill other wolves, So 183 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:06.120 whether it's territorial disputes or some other event. 184 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:09.840 Wolves are absolutely. 185 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:12.799 Known for having battles that end in the mortality of 186 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:15.399 conspecifics ps. 187 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:18.600 Some of the finest people on the planet don't know 188 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:21.279 what conspecific means and how to google it just now, 189 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.919 and it means animals or plants belonging to the same species. 190 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:29.519 But they also get yeah, right. They are very social creatures. 191 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:35.240 They maintain territories, and even though there is recognition of relatives, 192 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:42.399 there are debates about how do you acquire new territory, 193 00:11:42.679 --> 00:11:44.799 or if you're a disperser and you need to find 194 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:46.320 a mate and you need to have a new home 195 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:49.519 range because you're going to have a litter, how do 196 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:53.120 you acquire that new space and those resources to support that, 197 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:56.840 especially in a landscape maybe that's saturated with other wolf 198 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:01.120 populations already. So this battle usually does result in a 199 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:04.919 give and take of boundaries, and there's expansion or shrinking 200 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:09.039 of home ranges, and then there's usually conflict either around 201 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.000 resources or territory usage. 202 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:12.799 There's a lot of wolf drama. 203 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:16.799 Speaking of wolf drama, we have to talk about wolf packs. 204 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:21.440 We have to from memes allegedly identifying different roles within 205 00:12:21.480 --> 00:12:25.360 the pack to the often cited alpha males. People are 206 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:30.759 obsessed with wolf pack dynamics what exactly is a pack dynamic? Like? 207 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.919 Is there an alpha? Is there a beta? Do they 208 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.000 take care of the elderly wolves if they make it 209 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:39.720 that long? What is that little pot like? 210 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:46.000 Yeah, so it's very complicated. The original. 211 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:52.600 Description of wolf society and this lovely idea of altruism 212 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:56.600 and cooperation that is still maintained, but it's not necessarily 213 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:59.639 that cookie cutter that every wolf pack is going to 214 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:01.799 have that size and shape and dynamic. 215 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:04.399 So there are many packs that. 216 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:09.759 Do enjoy this traditional idea of monogamous breeding, pairs that 217 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.159 have annual litters of pups and maybe some of their 218 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:17.240 older offspring will maintain membership in the pack to help 219 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.360 care for the next generation of offspring. 220 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:21.000 These packs do exist. 221 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:26.639 There are, however, many other structures of packs where there 222 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:29.080 could be a single male that breeds with as many 223 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:32.559 female as he can most of the time, nearly all 224 00:13:32.600 --> 00:13:35.000 of the time they're unrelated to him, so there is 225 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:41.480 this element of avoiding inbreeding and kin recognition. But there 226 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.960 are lots of structures in variation to that pack structure. 227 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:47.919 But again, we love to have this idea that wolves 228 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.960 are just always going to care exclusively for their pack members. 229 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:54.480 There is a lot of provisioning for everybody else in 230 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:58.840 the pack, But there is still this battle between I 231 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:02.639 want to reproduce, I want to be the dominant individual 232 00:14:02.639 --> 00:14:05.919 in the pack, and that battle can be very much 233 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:11.399 shaped by age and resource availability, body size, maybe just 234 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.519 personalities of individuals. There are wolves that might be far 235 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:19.440 more bold and others that are far more shy. That 236 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:23.120 will shape how they interact in a pack and what 237 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:25.679 that means for their rank in that system. 238 00:14:25.960 --> 00:14:31.600 Wolf the Family Pack Drama confirmed so many possibilities based 239 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:34.399 on any number of factors. Okay, but what about the 240 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:39.399 connection between the canine in the moonlit tundra and the 241 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:43.840 one snoring on your lap. When it comes to domestic 242 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:47.360 dogs and wolves, I feel like everyone has this question. 243 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:52.000 How far down the line are they? How different genetically 244 00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:56.279 are they? And how did we get like hairless chihuahuas 245 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:58.960 out of a wolf? How did we domesticate that? 246 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:04.960 Yeah, dogs and wolves are really curious. They aren't very 247 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:11.000 different at all the ability This is a huge and 248 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:15.200 important question for evolutionary biologists in asking how do we 249 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.480 get such variation when we look at dogs? How do 250 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:21.639 we get that when we have these dog breeds that 251 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:25.000 we know came from this basic cookie cutter of a wolf. 252 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:28.000 Wolves don't vary that much. 253 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.919 They might have different colors, they might have slightly shorter 254 00:15:32.039 --> 00:15:34.639 fur maybe center for if they live in an arid 255 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:38.080 desert environment, and a sicker coat if they're more arctic, 256 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:41.559 but they're not that different in size and shape as 257 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:42.519 you get in dogs. 258 00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:44.600 So a lot of the work that's been. 259 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.879 Done to understand the genetics behind why dogs are so 260 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:52.120 diverse shows that there are a lot of mutations that 261 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:55.960 have happened over the course of their domestication, and it 262 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:00.480 can be very few that happen that disrupt genes very 263 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.279 quickly and you get a brand new appearance. 264 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.759 So they are just as similar as we suspected. But 265 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:10.080 domestication has had a huge impact on how dogs look 266 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:12.840 and act and continue to evolve. So maybe in ten 267 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:15.919 thousand years puppy dogs will have even bigger eyes and 268 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:19.720 fuzzier ears. In my opinion, don't mess with perfection. They're 269 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.159 great the way they are. Okay, we have some questions 270 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:25.000 from listeners like you, but first, each week we donate 271 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.080 to a cause of the ologists choosing and Bridget chose 272 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:32.080 the Red Wolf Coalition at redwolves dot Com. Which teaches 273 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:35.039 people about the value of red wolves to the ecosystem 274 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:38.919 and the people living in the restoration area. And Bridget says, 275 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:41.759 I continue to study red wolves and they currently need 276 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:44.000 as much support as they can get from the public, 277 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:47.519 so making that donation possible. Are a few sponsors of 278 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:49.200 ologies which I may talk about right now. 279 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:51.960 Get value. You can't argue with Optesco with their amazing 280 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.080 club card prices. 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Every little helps available to most doores, 288 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:18.519 prices very in. 289 00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:23.200 Express onto your Patreon questions and as always you brought 290 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:25.920 it and by it I mean great questions Bath but 291 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:29.880 the art in Anakin Geniak both asked about lone wolves. 292 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.319 Are there any theories about why some wolves become loners. 293 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:38.559 There are certainly many times in a wolf's life where 294 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:42.000 they will absolutely choose to venture out on their own, 295 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.920 and that could be the random sighting that you're kind 296 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:50.000 of catching a wolf in mid dispersal, or there's also 297 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:52.960 perhaps this I don't know how commonly it's known, but 298 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:57.079 that wolf packs only exist as packs seasonally. 299 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:01.000 No way so in winter, when prey is usually a 300 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:05.039 little more vigilant, so snow. 301 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:08.759 Is on the ground, food for prey species like elk 302 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:12.160 or caribou is harder to find. They're usually more vigilant 303 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:14.920 against predators because they're more vulnerable. 304 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:15.799 On snow surfaces. 305 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.559 If it's packed snow and their long legs get stuck 306 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:20.119 in it, they're quite vulnerable. 307 00:18:20.519 --> 00:18:22.319 So wolves really do well. 308 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.559 In the winter when they pack up and in the 309 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:26.920 warm months when there's much more food resources. 310 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:29.240 They're often not in packs, so. 311 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:32.079 You might see wolves on their own because they're just 312 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:36.599 out hanging out doing their wolfy thing. They rendezvous with 313 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:41.039 each other periodically, but wolves are often for a good 314 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:43.640 half of the year and temperate zones on their own, 315 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.359 so lone wolves lone wolves absolutely exist. They might be 316 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:51.079 out in pairs hanging out with their favorite buddy or someone, 317 00:18:51.359 --> 00:18:55.599 but it's often they're not always that close in touch 318 00:18:55.640 --> 00:18:56.160 with each other. 319 00:18:56.680 --> 00:18:59.079 But the notion of an alpha male as we think 320 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:02.480 of them in concer terms, like a CEO overseeing a 321 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:06.480 terrified team of subordinates, is a myth. So canine ethologist 322 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:10.799 David Meach, who's studied wolf behavior for decades, has disavowed 323 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:14.079 some of his previous notions of alpha's because they were 324 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:17.839 based on captive wolf packs of unrelated wolfies. So in 325 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.920 the wild, most packs are just families of a pop 326 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.039 and a ma and their pups, and maybe a few 327 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:26.400 other families and their kiddos, maybe an unrelated straggler or two. 328 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:29.759 Meach did report seeing some dominance behaviors, and in his 329 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:34.079 twenty ten paper titled Prolonged Intensive Dominance Behavior between gray 330 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:37.759 wolves Canis Lupus, he describes a time he witnessed what 331 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.119 his team thinks was a dad wolf straddling and harassing 332 00:19:41.160 --> 00:19:43.359 what may have been his son, kind of like a 333 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:46.559 test before the son took off for his own territory. 334 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:50.839 So science means always asking new questions and collecting more 335 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:54.319 information and then learning new things by analyzing it and 336 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:57.319 the myth of the alpha male is simply that. But 337 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:00.880 let's go back to more of your questions, Sally about 338 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.759 wolf and dog genetics. Sarah ger asked, my neighbor claims 339 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:07.039 her dog is half wolf and that her dog is 340 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:09.559 the offspring of a domestic canine who mate it with 341 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.079 a wolf. Is this biologically possible or is she just 342 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:13.680 trying to make her dog seem more cool? 343 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:17.160 Both both are probably true? Okay, I mean both are both. 344 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:18.359 The first one is certainly true. 345 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:21.880 Dogs and wolves can absolutely reproduce, no question about it. 346 00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:29.000 The feasibility of her dog or her dog's parent coming 347 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:30.759 across a wolf. I don't know if this is a 348 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:34.319 captive environment, if someone's breeding dog wolf hybrids, which is 349 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.279 highly possible, or if they live somewhere rural enough where 350 00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:38.920 a wolf. 351 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:41.400 Is running around and decided to reproduce it. 352 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:45.440 Both are possible, but offspring in that cross is absolutely viable. 353 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:48.880 A ton of people Natalie Mastik, Lauren Dean, Christina Weaver, 354 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:54.440 Andrea Levinson, Amelia Hines, Matthew Thomas Hill, John Sansone, Stephanie Malick, 355 00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:58.279 Anna Thompson, Jody Kendall, Lucy Keegan, and Samantha ge All 356 00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:01.400 had questions. Do wolves care about the moon? Do they 357 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:04.240 howl at the moon? Do they like the moon? Just 358 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:06.440 the moon affect their behavior? What is it with wolves 359 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:06.920 in the moon? 360 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:10.400 That's yeah, I see why that's a question. 361 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:13.960 Well, wolves howl all the time regardless of what the 362 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:20.519 moon is doing, so I don't know of having the 363 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:21.240 moon out. 364 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:28.839 Actually, so a full moon will give more light at night, and. 365 00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.400 Although most wolves are not actually hunting in the middle 366 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:35.599 of the night, the dawn and dusk era will have 367 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:38.759 put perhaps more light than normal, which might make hunting 368 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:43.880 or movement a little more interesting, and maybe there's more activity. 369 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:46.960 So maybe there's more howling because there's more action. But 370 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:50.759 I I this is just me speculating. I don't know 371 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:55.920 if anything that ever talks about having to basically control 372 00:21:55.960 --> 00:21:59.200 for if there's moonlight or not on understanding a wolf's behavior. 373 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:03.480 So mystical wolf moon connections are flume flam, but wolve's 374 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:07.680 communication devices aka songs sung from their boob bable snoots 375 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:10.480 have a range of up to ten miles and it 376 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:14.359 helps get the pack back together or intimidate others not 377 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:17.640 in their click. So essentially they're saying I'm lonely or 378 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:19.759 get away from me, you scare me and I hate you? 379 00:22:20.240 --> 00:22:23.680 And what about encounter? Citie Newman, Mariko Shin, Carrie, Isabel 380 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:26.519 be Hoper, and a few people asked what should I 381 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:28.400 do if I see a wolf when I'm out hiking 382 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:29.200 or backpacking. 383 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:33.079 I would say, it's not very different from bear gear. 384 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:37.279 I would have bells and whistles on my shoes and 385 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:42.319 backpack and blowing some one of these survival whistles will 386 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:46.400 just pretty much deter an animal who already doesn't really 387 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:51.440 want to interact with you. Okaybye, Okay, Yeah, having pepper 388 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:55.000 spray is never a bad thing, so I would just, 389 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:57.839 you know, probably turn and walk the other way or 390 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:01.519 back up. They're a little bit different, not quite like bear. 391 00:23:01.720 --> 00:23:04.759 So usually a wolf is already going to see you 392 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:08.240 much long before you've ever seen it. So I would 393 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:11.319 be surprised if you happen to surprise a wolf, although 394 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:12.799 I'm sure. 395 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:15.200 It can happen. It's not anything I've ever worried about. 396 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:19.319 Solid advice that I hope you never have to use. Okay, 397 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:21.480 if you love wolves as much as I do, I'm 398 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:24.440 sure you're asking yourself what can we do to help 399 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:29.240 these delightful, fluffy loyal, smart creatures. Who do I call, 400 00:23:29.319 --> 00:23:32.000 who do I write? I will protect them at all costs. 401 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:34.160