Indonesia: Rare breed of 'singing' dogs spotted for the first time in 50 years

An extremely rare breed of 'singing' dog, thought to have been extinct, has been spotted in its natural habitat for the first time in 50 years. The New Guinea singing dog, known for their unique howls and bark, though breeded in captivity,  had not been spotted in wild since past five decades. However, following research by the New Guinea Highland Wild Dog Foundation (NGHWDF) in 2016, a breakthrough was witnessed.

Spotted in Papua

For the research, the team from NGHWDF travelled to Puncak Jaya in Papua, Indonesia where they spotted a pack of Highland Wild Dogs. Upon further observation, the team found that the dogs had similar vocalisation to that of New Guinea Singing Dogs.Two years later, when they returned back to Indonesia, they took blood samples of the wild dogs. They then compared it those of the singing dogs, kept in captivity. Remarkably, their genome sequences were similar even though years of interbreeding resulted in physical differences.

“We found that New Guinea Singing Dogs and the Highland Wild Dogs have very similar genome sequences, much closer to each other than to any other canid known. In the tree of life, this makes them much more related to each other than modern breeds such as German shepherd or Bassett Hound," NHGRI staff scientist Heidi Parker wrote about the discovery.

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In a similar inicdent, the Woolly flying squirrel, which was believed to be extinct some seventy years back, was recently spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi. The Forest Research Institute reportedly informed that the ‘extinct’ squirrels were in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The institute, further, reportedly said that the Woolly flying squirrels use its claws as a parachute to fly. 

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