Domesticated Wolf Research Paper

Dogs and wolves show little resemblance but oddly satisfying, they belong to the same family tree. Although the initial response for one is adorable the other is scary, one is to thank domesticated wolves for bringing us the companionship today of a dog. It is hard to determine the real source where dogs came from but there are two top leading theories as to how the domestication of wolves began. The top leading theory is wolves domesticated themselves to take advantage of human settlements; wolves no longer had to hunt for food when humans gave it directly. The next leading theory is human isolated wolves as pups to raise them in domestication. These domesticated clans then reproduced and became the era of domesticated dogs. There are different viewings on how dogs have achieved such unique status and how

They’ve developed high techniques to be on top of the food chain. When the nomadic lifestyle changed to human settlements, wolves domesticated themselves in the settlements to take advantage of the commerce leftovers. Raymond Coopinger discusses the different approaches wolves had, “Wolves that had a higher “flight distance” tolerance would avoid these dumps, or spend more time and energy running away from the dumps when people approached than they would scavenging. Wolves with a lower “flight distance” would not startle and run from humans as easily, and this would allow them to eat more and succeed in this new niche” (pg. 152). Those who had the lower “flight distance” took the advantage to continue getting their food from humans. They became domesticated within them and began the era of domesticated dogs. Over time, the wolves would develop a shape more suited to scavenging, with a smaller body and smaller brain, which would then require less energy. The higher “flight distance” wolves did of course keep their distance and continued to hunt for their food and remain the predators they’ve always