COMPARATIVE SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF FERAL DOGS AND WOLVES

In this paper we compare some socio-ecological traits of feral dogs an d wolves in order to assess the social ecology of feral dogs in terms of its adaptive value in the natural environment, and to evaluate to w hat extent the domestication process altered the wolf's socio-ecologic al patterns. Referring to feral dogs as those dogs living in a wild st ate with no food and shelter intentionally provided by humans, and sho wing a continuous and strong avoidance of direct human contacts, we re view the currently available information on feral dog ecology, and par ticular reference is made to a 3-year term project on feral dog ecolog y in Abruzzo, Italy. Through comparison of relevant behavioural and ec ological features of both wolves and feral dogs, we hypothesize that s ome aspects of the feral dogs' ecology, having escaped natural selecti on pressures, represent primarily expression of ''evolutionary inertia '' or an epiphenomena of artificial selection. Fitness-related measure s of sociality, demography, reproduction, space-use, activity patterns , and feeding ecology in feral dogs tend to support our original hypot hesis: feral dogs are not reproductively self-sustaining, suffer from high rates of juvenile mortality, depend indirectly upon humans for fo od, co-optable individuals, and space, and their demography appears do minated by unpredictable mechanisms. However, further research is need ed, especially concerning different ecological conditions and multi-ge nerational time-scales, as well as the role that dominant breed-types and cross-breeding history within feral dog groups might play in the e xpression of the analyzed socio-ecological features.