The New Guinea singing dog, a dingo-like animal best known for its unique howling style was considered extinct in the wild, with only around 200 captive singing dogs living in conservation centers or zoos. Scientists, however, have recently confirmed that the dogs still roam the highlands of Papua New Guinea, according to DNA samples collected by a field researcher.
The recent analysis investigated sightings of possible New Guinea singing dogs, spotted for the first time in almost 50 years in 2016. But whether they were really the wild singing dogs that had been considered extinct or simply common village dogs gone feral was the big question.
To answer this question, a new expedition returned to the study site in 2018 and collected DNA from two trapped wild dogs, quickly released after biological samples were taken. Indeed, after analyzing the samples, the researchers confirmed that the highland dogs are not village dogs but appear to belong to the ancestral line from which the singing dogs descended.
“For decades we’ve thought that the New Guinea singing dog is extinct in the wild,” said Heidi G. Parker of the National Institutes of Health, who was part of the study. “They are not extinct,” Dr. Parker said. “They actually do still exist in the wild.”
The highland dogs had about 72 percent of their genes in common with their captive singing cousins. The 28 percent difference may come from physical separation for several decades and inbreeding among the captive New Guinea singing dogs.
Their genes could help reinvigorate the captive population of a few hundred animals in conservation centers, which are very inbred and further contribute to the conservation efforts of this elusive dog species.
