Abstract

Wolves are, for many people, the living embodiment of wildness. Dogs, on the other hand, are the nonhuman animal we have most closely adopted as one of our own: man’s best friend, the apogee of domestication. And yet, the two creatures can and do mate and have fertile offspring. The wolf’s scientific name is Canis lupus. The dog’s scientific name is Canis lupus familiaris. That is to say: they are the same species.