Are dogs really
tamed wolves?
Can't play sound? The illustrated version is right below.
Read the transcript
The full narration of the video.
Plenty of people think a dog is just a wolf pup that someone carried home and raised. That's only half right. Dogs really do come from wolves, but a wolf pup raised its whole life is still a wolf. Scientists in Hungary tried it: wolf pups and puppies just days old, each with its own person, carried day and night for weeks.
Later they got a food box that wouldn't open. The puppies tried a bit, then turned to look at the person: help me? The wolves never looked back. They just kept at it. So how did wolves become dogs? Let's run a little experiment in the yard. Keep a group of foxes in the yard, scared of people and quick to bite.
Each litter, keep only the few least afraid of you, the ones that let you pet them, and let only those have the next litter. Someone really did this, in 1959: scientists in Siberia, starting with 130 foxes. By generation four, one fox wagged its tail at people.
By generation ten, one turned up with floppy ears. By generation twenty, over a third would come up on their own and lick your hand. By thirty, seven or eight in ten. No shots, no training. Just one pick each generation.
Some scientists point out these foxes came from fur farms and weren't fully wild to begin with, so they changed faster. Wolves probably became dogs the same way, except at first, nobody was picking on purpose. Over ten thousand years ago, wherever people lived, there were leftover bones. Bold wolves that didn't bite dared come to the door for scraps. Fierce ones got chased off.
It's like a big family splitting up: one branch moves in under people's eaves, the other stays in the hills. The branch under the eaves got gentler every generation, better at reading faces, and became dogs. Where the comparison breaks: relatives choose to move. Wolves never meant to become dogs. It was who got to stay, generation after generation.
And a surprise: today's wolves aren't dogs' grandparents. They're distant cousins. Dogs' ancestors were a group of ancient wolves, a line that later died out. By DNA, dogs are closer to ancient wolves from eastern Asia. In China, Nanzhuangtou in Hebei has dog bones from ten thousand years ago. At Jiahu in Henan, nine thousand years ago, people buried dogs by their graves and homes.
So are dogs tamed wolves? Yes. But not one pup carried home: a whole group of wolves at people's doors, picked generation by generation over thousands of years. Your dog looks most like a wolf when it's…?
Raise a wolf pup,
get a wolf
Dogs really do come from wolves. But a wolf pup raised its whole life is still a wolf.
keeps at it, never looks back
looks back at the person for help
Scientists in Hungary gave wolf pups and puppies just days old one person each, kept them close day and night for weeks, then gave them this test.
Picking foxes in the yard,
one generation at a time
Imagine a yard full of foxes that fear people and bite. From each litter, only the few least afraid of you, the ones that let you pet them, get to have the next litter. The rest don't.
In 1959, scientists in Siberia really did this, starting with 130 foxes and picking generation after generation.
No shots, no training.
Just one pick each generation.
Some scientists point out these foxes came from fur farms and weren't fully wild to begin with, so they changed faster. No one disputes that picking changed them.
The pile of bones by the door
Over ten thousand years ago, wherever people lived, there were leftover bones. Bold wolves that didn't bite dared come to the door for scraps; fierce ones got chased off.
Most scientists think this is how wolves became dogs: picked generation by generation, except at first nobody was picking on purpose.
A big family
splits up
One branch moved in under people's eaves, got gentler every generation and better at reading faces, and became dogs. The other stayed in the hills.
So today's wolves
aren't dogs' grandparents.
They're distant cousins.
By DNA: dogs' ancestors were a group of ancient wolves whose line later died out; dogs are closer to ancient wolves from eastern Asia.
In China, dogs
arrived early too
Back then there were no breeds; most of today's 300-plus breeds were set only in the last two hundred years.
like a wolf when…?
Quick check
How did wolves become dogs?
Like a big family splitting up: one branch lived under people's eaves for generations and became dogs. A single raised pup is still a wolf.
