Venue/Location: Mission Theater, 1624 N.W. Glisan St., Phone: (503) 224-0166
Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 7:00 PM
OMSI Science Pub:
Are Dogs Really Just 'Designer Wolves?'
Presenter: Dr. Ceiridwen Terill, associate professor of science writing and environmental journalism at Concordia University
Admission: $5.00 suggested cover charge
21 and over, or minor with adult
In 1993 American scientists reclassified the dog as a subspecies of gray wolf because their mitochondrial DNA differs by no more than 0.2%. Doesn’t sound like much, but it represents a huge difference in the behavior of these two animals. 40,000 years or more of selection has made it possible for dogs to live with humans on human terms. The very survival of wolves, on the other hand, often depends upon avoiding humans and their livestock. So why are there more wolves and wolf-dog hybrids in captivity than there are wild wolves in all of North America? Why do some people want to possess a bit of the wild, and why are dog-food companies featuring howling wolves on their bags of kibble and promising a “return to an ancestral diet”? Join us for a lively presentation about wolves and dogs, illuminating the genetic, morphological, and behavioral differences between them.
Dr. Terrill’s work has recently taken her on a five-year journey into the genetics, morphology, and behavior of wolves and dogs. She has interviewed breeders and rescuers of wolves and wolf-dog hybrids across the United States, as well as traveled to Russia to study the world’s foremost domestication experiment with silver foxes. Temple Grandin calls her writing “riveting”: “Ceiridwen Terrill will make you fully understand the differences between wild and domestic animals.”