Tag : Wolves

Washington: According to a recent study, a group of researchers discovered the sleep of the dog's wild counterpart, the wolf for the first time. The findings of the research by the Department of Ethology from Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary were published in the Scientific Reports. In the study, fully non-invasive EEG measurements were applied; a harmless procedure, attaching electrodes on the surface of the skin, similarly to human sleep EEG methods. The increasing interest in canine sleep research stems from its advantages to study the sleep of a domesticated species adapted to the human environment. Evolutionary adaptations to environmental circumstances - such as sleeping in a protected environment - could have shaped humans' sleep. Thus, similar changes might be expected in the sleep of other species adapted to the human environment. For example, dogs, similarly to humans, sleep more superficially in an unfamiliar environment. To gain a better understanding of the effects of domestication and cohabitation with humans on sleep phenotypes and physiology, comparing the dog to its wild counterpart, the wolf, offers a unique opportunity. "Although dog-wolf comparative studies have already been conducted in several areas of research, including behavioural and genetic studies, the neural processes of wolves remain a largely unexplored field" said Anna Balint, researcher at the MTA-ELTE Comparative Ethology Research Group. "We measured the sleep EEG of seven hand raised, extensively socialised wolves, using the same methodology as has been applied in family dogs. We successfully measured all sleep stages (drowsiness, deep sleep, and REM) that were previously observed in dogs as well." It may seem surprising that wolves can be meas ...