African village dog
African village dogs are dogs found in Africa that are directly descended from an ancestral pool of indigenous dogs.[1] African village dogs became the close companion of people in Africa, beginning in North Africa and spreading south.[2]
Dogs entered Africa from the Middle East
The oldest dog remains to be found in Africa date 5,900 years
Genetic diversity
In 2009, a genetic study of African village dogs found that these were genetically distinct from the non-native and mixed-breed dogs. The village dogs of Africa were a mosaic of native dogs that arrived early into Africa, and non-native mixed breed dogs. The Basenji clustered with the indigenous dogs, but the Pharaoh Hound and the Rhodesian Ridgeback were predominantly of non-African origin.[5]
Local variations
There are different types of African village dogs:
- Avuvi: a pariah-type village dog from Ghana[6]
- Baganda Dog: a Lurcher-like large game hunting dog from Uganda, named after the Baganda tribe.[7]
- Bagirmi Dog: a large dog with piebald colour, named after the Baguirmi Department of Chad.[7]
- Cameroon Dog: a hunting dog from West Africa, of medium size and primitive type, with erect ears, long legs and short coat, often piebald in colour, named after Cameroon.[7]
- East African Dog: a hunting dog from Kenya, large in size.[7]
- Hahoawu: a "clean" medium-sized (11 to 14 kg) watch dog from Togo, with a far sight and a coat of fawn or red colour, well adapted to city life, named after the Haho river.[8]
- Liberian Dog (a.k.a. Liberian Terrier): a terrier-like dog from West Africa, small and reddish-brown, named after Liberia.[7]
- Madagascar Hunting Dog: a hunting dog from Madagascar.[7]
- Manboutou Dog: a local variant of the Nyam Nyam kept by the Mangbetu tribe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[7]
- Nyam Nyam (a.k.a. Zande Dog): a small hunting dog from Central Africa with erect ears, a curly tail and a short coat of fawn colour, thought to be similar or somehow related to the Basenji, named after the Zande tribe.[7]
- Simaku: a ratter from South Africa, also used for cleaning yards (by scavenging waste), developed by crossing pariah dogs with terriers.[7]
- Sudan Greyhound: an extinct hare-hunting dog from Sudan.[7]
- West African Mouse Dog: an extinct small (36 cm) Doberman Pinscher-like ratter, with a short, smooth and red coat.[7]
- Zulu Dog: a small guard and hunting dog with a square muzzle and a fawn coat, named after the Zulu tribe.[7]
Moreover, it is debatable whether the following breeds also belong or belonged to "African village dogs".[citation needed]
- African Hairless Dog: a probably extinct hairless dog.[7][9]
- Bisharin Greyhound: a hare-hunting dog from Sudan, with erect ears and a curly tail, named after the Bishari tribe.[7]
- Dinka Greyhound: a Greyhound-like pariah hunting dog from Sudan, of a rougher type than the other Sudanese breeds, with a short, fawn coat, named after the Dinka tribe.[7]
- Egyptian Hairless Dog: an extinct hairless dog, close relative or perhaps even the same breed as the African Hairless Dog, small in size (41 cms), with drooping ears.[7]
- Shilluk Greyhound (a.k.a. Shilluk Dog): an antelope-hunting dog with a robust body and semi-erect (folded) ears, usually of red colour with a black mask, named after the Shilluk tribe.[7]
- Zanzibar Greyhound (a.k.a. Zanzibar Dog): a large (68 cms) hunting dog from Zanzibar, with erect ears, a robust body and a red-white colour, believed to be developed by crossing Salukis with pariah dogs.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "African Village Dogs Are Genetically Much More Diverse Than Modern Breeds". ScienceDaily. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ Simpson, Professor MA (8 January 2013). "Dogs do come from Africa". health24. 24.com. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
- )
- ISBN 978-1-107-02414-4.
- PMID 19666600.
- ^ Avuvis. West African Dogs, Blogspot.com. Searched Feb 25th, 2019.
- ^ OCLC 49515650.
- ^ Kärmer, Eva-Maria. Der grosse Kosmos Hundeführer, p. 114. Kosmos, Stuttgart: 2009.
- ISBN 978-1165937967.