For the past 50 years, New Guinea's singing dogs have been considered extinct in the wild, and their songs have been permanently silenced in the wild. The researchers believed that captive offspring of these singers were the only remaining evidence of the wild dogs.
However, new DNA evidence has surfaced linking captured New Guinea singing dogs to highland wild dogs, suggesting an ancestral relationship and suggesting that the show may go on for these singers.
The new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed photos, stool samples, and blood samples from the elusive highland wild dogs to find a genomic sequence similar to the original singing dogs from New Guinea - with a match of over 70% in genes.
Despite the differences in order, the researchers believe the dogs are still the same. The differences are due to various environmental factors, and the fact that most captive dogs in New Guinea are trapped is the result of inbreeding.
Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the US National Human Genome Research Institute and co-author of the study, told the sustainability website Treehugger. "This is the first highland wild dog study to be conducted with nuclear DNA, the gold standard for studies like this, which makes it very special."
"The study also fills in some missing gaps in understanding the complex relationship between highland wild dogs, dingoes and New Guinea singing dogs in conservation centers," she said. "The results of the study provide conservation biologists with an opportunity to conduct further studies and reflect on how to restore variation in the conservation population for singing dogs in New Guinea."
Given that the highland wild dog is still one of the rarest dogs in the wild, the new research could mean they could be subject to environmental protection to ensure the last remaining canine crooners don't actually go extinct.
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