The New Guinea Singing Dog Is Alive and Free (and Howling) in the Wild

New genetic research shows that the New Guinea singing dog isn’t just a domestic pet: also known as the highland wild dog, its distinctive howl can be heard in the highlands of the Oceanic islands.

“Assuming these highland wild dogs are the original New Guinea singing dogs, so to speak, that really gives us a fantastic opportunity for conservation biology,” says Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist at the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute and co-author of the study. “It’ll give us a chance to reintroduce the original genetics of these dogs into this conservation population.”

To prove the existence of a wild population of singing dogs – not seen in the wild since the 70s and believed to live only in zoos and sanctuaries – scientists went to the Grasberg Mine area where they took 149 photographs of 15 dogs and collected fecal samples. As the genetic material wasn’t sufficient in the fecal matter to produce actual proof, they also collected blood samples from three of the animals. With this information, scientists can potentially clarify the history of dog domestication.