The New Guinea dingo was thought to be extinct for 50 years.
Scientists have now been able to discover traces of the extremely shy wild animal again.
No one has been able to sight a New Guinea dingo in recent years.
His sonorous, almost “singing” howl had also stopped.
But researchers have now made an interesting discovery about the little-known species.
New Guinea dingo not extinct after all - scientists bring evidence
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New Guinea dingoes were thought to be extinct for 50 years.
(icon picture)
© imagebroker/Imago
It all started when zoologist James McIntyre discovered the first tracks in the western New Guinea area in 2016.
At that time, however, it was not yet certain whether this was just a normal domestic dog or actually the extinct New Guinea dingo.
Even a species of bird believed dead could only be rediscovered.
It was then that the scientist decided to take DNA samples.
However, McIntyre was not satisfied with the result at that time.
So he decided to search for the extinct species of dingo.
With his team, he managed to take blood samples from three animals.
Then came the breakthrough, as reported by
Geo
magazine.
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New Guinea dingo not extinct after all - first record after 50 years
In fact, the researchers were able to use DNA to establish a relationship with the supposedly extinct dingo species, as the researchers explain in the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
.
And so, for the first time in 50 years, they have succeeded in proving that these wild dogs still exist in the 4,000 meter high mountains of New Guinea.
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The animal species impresses with a distinctive, singing howl, which can also be heard from afar.
Most likely, the New Guinea dingoes already lived in their homeland 5,500 years ago.
They are closely related to the Australian dingo.
Researchers suspect that the reason why the wild dogs were considered extinct for so long was their great shyness.
Because to this day they are not used to humans.
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