The Wolf and Kangal (Karabash)

The routes of these two brave and noble canids have always crossed. Resembling each other in their physical structure and in their character and temperament, they come across each other frequently because of a third species, sheep.

The Wolf

The wolf (Canis lupus) is a carnivorous mammal of the canidae family. In Turkey it is known as canavar (monster) among people in rural areas. Throughout history it has always been a feared and respected animal.

Characteristics of the wolf

The wolf is the largest wild member of the canidae family. Its large head, connected to its broad neck by powerful jaw muscles, tapers towards the muzzle and nose. The ears are erect, rounded and of medium length. The neck is thick and strong, the chest is narrower than in the dog, and the back of its body is thinner than the front, with thin loins. The forelegs and hindlegs are long and thin with a gaunt appearance, but the paws are big and strong. The tail is long and bushy and usually carried down, never curled. The colour of the eyes is a soft yellow. Its skull is narrower than that of the dog. The muzzle is dark. In normal walking gait, the hind foot often lands in the print made by the front foot on the same side.

 
Although coat coloration is quite variable, generally the back is dun and brindle, and abdomen and inner parts of the limbs are a light yellowish colour. There is a black stripe down the front of the forelegs. The tail is darker and black at the tip. The coat is long-haired in winter and shorter in summer.

 
Wolves are extremely self-possessed canids. Highly social animals, they live in groups, known as packs, of from 7 to 24 individuals. A pack is formed when a male and female wolf from two different packs leave the packs of their birth, find each other, breed, and produce young. The male and female become the pack leaders or alphas. They are known as alpha male and alpha female. The social structure within the pack is a strict hierarchy based ultimately on submission to the strongest male. Wolves generally hunt in packs consisting of all the adults. The alphas, being dominant, lead hunts and are the first to eat when a prey animal is killed. Being alpha is a status having some advantages but also requires self-sacrifice. The alphas do not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the pack. On the death of a leader the pack designates the most dominant male or female as alpha. Pups are fed by a male wolf if a female disappears.

 
The length of a wolf is 90-120 cm (35-47 in) excluding the tail, which is 35-40 cm (14-16 in). Height at the withers is 75-85 cm (30-33 in) and weight is 30-50 kg (66-110 lbs). Wolves 90 cm (35 in) in height and 60-65 kg (132-143 lbs) in weight are 'occasionally encountered' (Turan 1984). As seen from these figures, the dimensions of the wolf and the Kangal (Karabash) Dog are almost identical.

Characteristics of Wolf-killer (Kurtçul) Turkish Kangal (Karabash) Shepherd Dog

Wolf-killer Kangal (Karabash) Dogs must have three main features:

Courage: The Kangal (Karabash) Dog in attacking and fighting wolves must be courageous. Many Kangal Dogs make themselves scarce as soon as they see or even smell a wolf.

Speed: The Kangal (Karabash) Dog in catching wolves must be speedy. It must be capable of great speed and endurance.

Strength: The Kangal (Karabash) Dog in killing wolves must be powerful.

The purebred Kangal (Karabash) Dog already possesses these three main natural characteristics. Many people who know, or who do not know, the physical particulars of the wolf-killer purebred Kangal (Karabash) Dog, put forward a number of contradictory claims, or tell stories which have no scientific basis. Such claims as ‘The wolf-killer Kangal (Karabash) has wolf-killer toe-nails’ or ‘The wolf-killer Kangal (Karabash) has a line with reverse hairs on its forehead’ are merely myths told by villagers or hunters. Wolf-killer Kangal (Karabash) Dogs possess not only the main physical features mentioned above, but also the general character and temperament of Kangal (Karabash) Dogs. It's an undeniable fact that big-built, tall dogs do not have stamina even over very short distances and give up the chase. Furthermore, the belief that very large, tall Kangal (Karabash) Dogs are the bravest is not always correct.

Wolf-killing

The Kangal (Karabash) Dog is a speedy long distance runner. It runs into a wolf and uses its shoulders and chest to knock it off balance sideways. It is not always true that the back of a wolf is broken when the Kangal (Karabash) knocks it because it is very difficult to make an impact powerful enough to break the back of a canid running side by side. This may only happen if the wolf stands still. During the attack the Kangal (Karabash) generally recovers first and taking the wolf by the throat kills it. The wolf may wound the Kangal (Karabash) during this fight. While it fights for its life the wolf may bite or scratch the most sensitive parts of the Kangal (Karabash), the throat, ears (if not cropped), genital organs and/or abdomen. If the wolf recovers first from the initial attack, it will prefer to run away.

 
The wolf is slightly smaller in size than the Kangal (Karabash) Dog which is a disadvantage for the wolf. However, this disadvantage may be overcome by the ferocity, courage, and likely hunger of the wolf, and by its razor-sharp teeth. Kangal (Karabash) Dogs used in guarding sheep and goat flocks in Turkey are protected from wolf bites by collars studded with long spikes.

Similarity of the Turkish Kangal (Karabash) Shepherd Dog and the wolf

The Kangal (Karabash) Dog and the wolf have some similarities. In history and myth both are considered sacred and valuable canids by Turkish people. The Kangal (Karabash) and the wolf both have the same number of chromosomes, 2n=78. The number of chromosomes is also the same in the coyote, the jackal, and the dingo. These can all produce offspring if they mate with each other. This is different, for instance, in foxes. The grey fox cannot produce offspring if it mates with the red fox despite their external resemblance, as the number of chromosomes is 2n=66 in the grey fox, and 2n= 36 in the red fox.

 
The body length and height at the withers of the Kangal (Karabash) Dog and the wolf are almost identical. However, the wolf has a lower body weight than that of the Kangal (Karabash). The number of teeth and teeth-order are the same. The blood parameters and brain weights are similar. Coat colours are similar. The gestation period of both is about 9 weeks. The eyes of newborn pups open in 12-14 days. They reach maturity in 18-24 months. Both live in monogamous pairs. They are extremely intelligent and have well-developed senses and superior courage. Both are social canines but wolves live in crowded packs whilst the Kangal (Karabash) Dog prefers to live with people and flocks.

Has the Turkish Kangal (Karabash) Shepherd Dog bred from the wolf?

 
The origins of animals which resemble each other genetically may be investigated in three ways:

1. Mating and offspring
2. Mutual behaviours
3. Morphological features.

The similarities outlined in the previous section provide an answer to this question. Most probably the wolf is the ancestor of the dog, but no scientific study demonstrating this has ever been reported, beyond noting the similarity of these two canids. The results of a study entitled 'Genetic evidence on the origin of Western Asian dogs' by Savolainen et al., were published in the journal 'Science' in 2002. In the study, 654 dogs from various breeds and 38 Asian and European wolves were used, and the results illustrated on the phylogenetic tree (a tree of genetic relations) obtained. The animals which resembled each other genetically were classified as groups. Six groups ( A, B, C, D, E, and F) were obtained. The results in accordance with the geographical areas in which these six groups lived may be summarized as follows:

1. The A, B, and C groups account for 95% of the dogs analyzed.
2. The ancestor of today's dogs was a single breed. All of the
later dog breeds descend from this breed.
3. Domestication of dogs took place first in Eastern Asia.
4. The dog was domesticated 15,000 years ago, contrary to previous belief
5. On the phylogenetic tree, the matching of mitochondrial DNA of dogs and wolves, proves that dogs have been bred from wolves.
Analyzing the above results, if we have to find a 'first', we may say that the first dog bred from the wolf might have been the Kangal (Karabash) Dog.