Fox-Dog Hybrid Found in Brazil

Better Planet, Shelter Rescues Injured Animal—Turns Out To Be World's First Dog-Fox Hybrid

The jaw-dropping discovery began in 2021 when an animal rescue team was dispatched to reports of an injured animal in Vacaria, Rio Grande do Sul. A hit-and-run incident had left the creature severely injured and the Environmental Patrol transferred it to the veterinary hospital of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). From the hospital, the animal went to the Center for Conservation and Rehabilitation of Wild Animals.

"For us biologists and veterinarians, it is normal to look at all animals differently. We're trained to look for what's common and what's different when we look at an animal. And that's what happened," researcher Cristina Araujo Matzenbacher told Newsweek. "She had eyes resembling a domestic dog, and long ears resembling a pampas fox, although she had a dark coat and barked like a dog."

 

When the animal didn't accept food usually offered to dogs, she was given small rats which she accepted. "Another behavior of the pampas fox was observed when she climbed the bush that was in the environment where she was kept," said Matzenbacher.

This was when the veterinarian caring for the animal, Flavia Ferrari, contacted the professor of the genetics department at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL) Thales Renato Ochotorena de Freitas. It was then that the dogxim was transferred to the academics.

A paper published in August 2023 revealed the discovery of the dog-fox hybrid. First the team employed cytogenetics and genetics techniques to delve deeper into the case of the unusual animal. This helped them determine the number of chromosomes in the animal's cells, which turned out to be 76, revealing a significant clue in the investigation.

"In Rio Grande do Sul, only the Chrysocyon brachyurus has 76 chromosomes, however, this species is very different in the phenotype when compared with the dogxim," Rafael Kretschmer told Newsweek. Pampas foxes typically have 74 chromosomes, while domestic dogs have 78. During reproduction, offspring inherit half of their chromosomes from each parent. For dogs, this means they contribute 39 chromosomes to their offspring, whereas pampas foxes contribute 37. The combination of gametes from a dog and a pampas fox results in a total of 76 chromosomes—matching the chromosome count found in the dogxim.

To further bolster their findings, the scientists turned their attention to mitochondrial DNA, a type of genetic material inherited exclusively from the mother. This analysis conclusively revealed that the dogxim's mother was a pampas fox. In the nuclear DNA, they discovered a mix of genetic material from both domestic dogs and pampas foxes, providing further confirmation of the presence of hybridization in this extraordinary creature.
. . .
The dogxim in question fully recovered from the hit-and-run incident, but after being transferred to the care of another facility, the dogxim died around six months ago.

"So far, we do not know the cause of death of the dogxim. We would very much like to know what happened," Matzenbacher said.

It looks cute, but I bet it would make a terrible pet, unless you had a rat problem. 

Beach Report and Weed du Jour

I spotted this in the edge of the woods as we walked down the trail. Cuckoopint or Lords and Ladies. An old world plant, probably escaped from gardens. Their leaves are gone by the time the fruit develop. Don't eat them, they're poisonous.




On our way through the boat yard, Skye and I surprised this fox. I'm leaning to Red Fox, which is what we see most often here, but it might be a Gray Fox. Skye wanted to play (maybe) but the fox was unconvinced. We did get a better look as it ran into the woods, and its tail was long, but not bushy. Mange?

The weather is cool (for August), in the 70s and gusty, which made for a pleasant walk, but poor tooth hunting.

A Monarch butterfly trying to puddle in the wind.












A former Weed du Jour, Spotted Bee Balm.













My first Red-Spotted Purple of the year visited the apple tree in the back yard

Very Tempting, But . . .

I already have a canine companion, and I don't think she would do well with a fox: Meet Your New Pet, A Domesticated Fox

Dogs have been evolving as human companions for at least about 14,000 years. Cats have lived with us for 12,000. But if you want something a little more cutting edge—and you’re willing to pay up— a pet fox might be just the thing.

Domestication started just 55 years ago, but because Russian geneticists methodically bred just the friendliest foxes, a handful of charming, domesticated and trainable foxes are available today.

While foxes are the most common carnivore in the wild, this new pseudo-breed is one of the rarest domesticated animals in the world, with only a hundred or so in existence, all of them bred from animals in Russia. Importing a fox currently costs about $9,000.

But the money isn’t going to a kind of fox puppy mill: That hefty sum supports science and rescues the sweet animal (which looks like a cross between a wolf and the fluffy Shiba Inu but only weighs about 10 pounds.)

The whole project to domesticate foxes started in 1959 on a scientific outpost near Kazakhstan where geneticist Dmitry Belyaev wanted to see how quickly humans could tame a species by breeding on behavior alone. In what became one of the most famous biological experiments of the 20th century, Belyaev showed the world showed that domestication—and by extension, evolution—could work faster than anyone imagined.

Belyaev started with a population of fur farm foxes and chose the friendliest 10%—the 130 animals that were rated the least likely to attack or run from people. Within four generations, some foxes were wagging tails. By generation six, 1.8% were deemed the "elite of domestication"; they eagerly sought human friends. By generation 10, it was 18% and by 20 it was double that. Curiously, the friendly gene came attached to some other physical genes that made the foxes look like other domestic animals: curly tails, white faces, droopy ears. It took only about 35 years to completely domesticate the species. 

But long-term science is hard to pay for, so the Russians are selling some of the "best" foxes for money to run the program.

I'm Back Yet Again

Trevor, Tom, myself and a friend of Trevor named Gary did a charter trip with Pete today. Except for keeping fish, and the recreational limit (20 inches for  instead of 18 for rockfish) it was much the same as a commercial trip, with less pressure to catch fish. We started at Cedar Point, but left quickly as water was rough there and the fish not biting. The wind died all day long.

These clouds over the Eastern Shore had a golden lining. . .

While the clouds over the west side were tinged in pink.

Pete and Tom discuss fishing, I think, as we approach the Honga River Bridge.

 Sunrise at the Honga River Bridge, the original bridge to nowhere, if Hoopersville is nowhere.

After a couple of very cold, windy days, the water temperature had dropped almost 10 F, from 65 to 55 F, changing the way the fish behaved, and where they schooled up. Nevertheless we caught fish at most places we stopped.

A Red Fox on South Marsh Island (I think). How the heck does a fox get out on an island at least 2 miles from the mainland?  Did it swim, or did it walk out this winter when the ice was thick in Tangier Sound?  We didn't notice many birds on the island.

 A stop at the American Mariner, also known as the Target Ship, which is looking worse than ever, but is decked out with two fresh signs to warn boaters:

In October 1966, she was scuttled in shallow water with demolition charges by Navy Underwater Demolition Team #22. Settling upright in 20 feet of water, she appears to be merely anchored there. The hulk was used for target practice by naval aviators flying out of NAS Patuxent River until at least 1971.[1] Her hulk is still visible in the Chesapeake Bay, at 38°02′25″N 76°09′17″WCoordinates: 38°02′25″N 76°09′17″W, roughly midway between Point Lookout and Smith Island. 

We were also overflown by jets from Patuxent River Naval Air Station, both F18s and a JSF (according to Tom). He calls the JSF the "just science fiction." Loud suckers.

Trevor says "hey" as we leave the Target ship. At this point we were one fish short of a recreational limit 9 fish (2 fish per angler over 20 inches plus one for the boat), which Trevor filled at another stop on the way north.

Back at Solomon's Island by 3 PM and home by 4.

UPDATE: Thanks to Tom, a picture of the fish cooler at the dock.

Luna Wants Her Pigeon

That laugh like call is pretty odd.

What Is It With Foxes and Go Pros?

Just one more...



Wombat-socho has the root of all Rule 5 posts up at The Other McCain: "Rule 5 Monday."