Discoveries

April 24, 2024

Long, Lost Friends

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The relationship between dogs and humans goes back thousands of years, but that doesn’t mean man’s best friend didn’t compete with other animals for affection.

A new analysis of the buried remains of a 1,500-year-old fox in northwestern Argentina suggested that humans and the canid species also once shared a close bond, CNN reported.

In their study, scientists studied the skeleton of a Dusicyon avus, a fox species that became extinct some 500 years ago. Although considered a fox, it was about the size of a German shepherd but less bulky.

The D. avus remains were first found buried alongside a human at a site in northern Patagonia in 1991. Recent analysis of bones showed that it had no cut marks, which means that it was not eaten by the ancient hunter-gatherers living in the area.

Further study also showed that its diet was similar to that of the humans, hinting that the fox was tamed and kept as a pet.

“That suggests either the community was feeding it, or it was around the community and feeding on the kitchen refuse,” said lead author Ophelie Lebrasseur. “It would suggest that there’s a closer relationship and integration of the canid within the society.”

The new finding adds to a growing body of evidence showing a close relationship between humans and foxes: Ancient burials in Europe and Asia have also uncovered the remains of dogs and foxes laid to rest with humans.

But the recent study also sheds some insights into D. avus, a species that was once widespread across South America.

The extinction of South American foxes likely wasn’t due to interbreeding with dogs introduced by European colonizers, as DNA analysis suggested they couldn’t produce fertile offspring.

However, dogs may have competed for resources and transmitted diseases, contributing to the foxes’ decline, according to other researchers.

This story originally appeared in the April 24, 2024 newsletter, Finding a Foothold.