Societies of wolves and free-ranging dogs / Stephen Spotte.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Wolves are charismatic emblems of wilderness. Dogs, which descended from wolves, are models of urbanity. Do free-ranging dogs revert to pack living or are their societies only reminiscent of a wolfish heritage? Focusing on behavioral ecology, this is the first book to assess societies of both gray wolves and domestic dogs living as urban strays and in the feral state. It provides a comprehensive review of wolf genetics, particularly of New World wolves and their mixture of wolf, coyote and dog genomes. Spotte draws on the latest scientific findings across the specialized fields of genetics, sensory biology, reproductive physiology, space use, foraging ecology and socialization. This interdisciplinary approach provides a solid foundation for a startling and original comparison of the social lives of wolves and free-ranging dogs. Supplementary material, including a full glossary of terms, is available online at www.cambridge.org/9781107015197"-- Provided by publisher.

Preface -- 1. What makes a wolf -- Wolves in the beginning -- Modern wolves -- Great Lakes wolf -- Red wolf -- Eastern coyote -- The color of wolves -- 2. What makes a dog -- Domestication -- Early dogs -- Coydogs and wolfdogs -- Dingoes -- 3. Visual and tactile communication -- Metaphors and semiotics -- Signal and response -- Agonistic behavior -- The physiological stress response -- Visual and tactile signaling -- 4. Olfactory and vocal communication -- Odor and pheromone reception -- Scent-marking -- Vocalization -- Wolf howls -- 5. Space -- Use of space -- Territorial disputes -- Pack dynamics -- Natural controls on wolf populations -- Painting the social fence -- Space use by free-ranging dogs -- 6. Foraging -- Wolves as predators -- Competitors of wolves -- Wolves hunting and scavenging -- Prey selection by wolves -- The dilemma of cooperative hunting -- Foraging by free-ranging dogs -- 7. Courtship and conception -- The reproductive cycle (pt. 1) -- Courtship in owned dogs -- Courtship in free-ranging dogs -- courtship in wolves -- 8. Reproduction and parenting -- The reproductive cycle (pt. 2) -- Wolf dens and rendezvous sites -- Dens and rendezvous sites of free-ranging dogs -- Wolf litters -- Free-ranging dog litters -- Helping and the altruism dilemma -- 9. Socialization -- The socialization sequence -- Play and bonding -- Confinement and social order in wolves -- Dominance in free-ranging dogs -- Leadership -- Dingoes.