For the first time, it has been genetically confirmed that the wolf-dog hybrid appeared in the Carpathians.
The Conservation Carpathia Foundation conducted a scientific survey in the Southern Carpathians between 2018 and 2020, and the results of the research have just been announced .
The experts studied the wolf population of a 1,400 square kilometer research area. Six packs have been identified in this area, a total of 47 individual wolves and one hybrid, which is a mixture of wolf and dog. the three-year research, 503 DNA samples were collected from urine, excrement and hairs, the data was coordinated with the images of the cameras placed in the area, and based on these, the number and density of the wolf population was estimated.
From these data, it was deduced that there are 2.35 wolves per 100 square kilometers in the Southern Carpathians.
Although only a single wolf-dog hybrid has been identified, the discovery is significant, as it is the first genetic evidence of interbreeding, which may become more common in the future and may even result in the genetic degradation and eventual disappearance of the Romanian wolf population. Experts see the reason for the mixing in the fact that in Romania, stray dogs appeared in the wolves' habitat.
According to detection data, a stray dog is detected for every third wolf sighting with a camera.
According to official estimates, there are currently around 3,000 wolves living in Romania, but these estimates were not based on scientific methods.
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