Dogxim: The first ever Dog-Fox Hybrid that was found 2 years ago in Brazil is no more. The Pampas Fox-Dog hybrid was found and resided at the Sao Braz conservation center since November 2021. Since then, she has been living a safe life but recently, the hybrid animal was found dead and the reason is unknown. More Details.
How Dogxim was found to be a Dog-Fox Hybrid?
Well, right after the creature was found injured after it got hit by a car in Vacaria, Rio Grande do Sul, it was brought to a local veterinary hospital by the local rescuers. While rescuing the creature, they have noticed something unique in the creature.
The look-alike dog was not accepting normal dog food but small rats instead. Rescuers were in confusion about this behavior.
The creature also behaved like a dog and barked like a dog but its ears were not anything like dog ears. Its ear resembled more like a Pampas Foxes Ear.
Also the dark coat. It is very unlikely for a dog to have such a dark grey coat.
Another behavior that made everyone suspicious in the team was that she climbed bushes like a pro. Where she was kept, there were bushes and the creature climbed it easily and it was not a dog thing to do.
What Scientist found out?
After all the unique behavior encountered by the vaterians Flavia Ferrari, who was caring for the animal, contacted the professor of the genetics department at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL) Thales Renato Ochotorena de Freitas.
After the reports were published in August 2023, it kept everyone in shock as the discoveries were pretty big. They found it to be the first ever Hybrid animal born from a dog and a fox.
First, the team used special techniques to study the genes of the strange animal. They wanted to find out how many tiny parts called chromosomes were in their cells. They found that there were 76 chromosomes, which was a big clue.
There was another kind of animal in the region of Rio Grande do Sul, and it also has 76 chromosomes. But it was not that animal because the new creature looked very much different and that is why they named it Dogxim, according to researchers.
As the animal’s appearance is much like a Pampas fox, scientists also looked out for the Pampas fox’s chromosomes which was 74 chromosomes. Also, a regular domestic dogs have 78. When animals make babies, they give half of their chromosomes to their offspring. So, for dogs, that’s 39 chromosomes, and for pampas foxes, it’s 37.
When a dog and a pampas fox have babies together, the baby ends up with 76 chromosomes, which is the same as the Dogxim.
To be extra sure about their findings, the scientists looked at a special type of DNA that comes only from the mother. This showed them that the dogxim’s mother was a pampas fox. When they looked at the regular DNA, they found a mix of genes from both dogs and pampas foxes. This confirmed that the dogxim was a mix of these two types of animals.
Read the Dogxim Full Story Here.
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