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Ancient Wolves Reached Baltic Island With Human Help, Study Finds

Multiple lines of evidence point to close human–wolf contact without proving domestication.

Overview

  • A peer-reviewed PNAS study reports 3,000–5,000-year-old wolf remains from Stora Förvar cave on Sweden's Stora Karlsö.
  • The 2.5 km² island has no native land mammals, indicating the animals were transported by people, likely by boat.
  • DNA from two canid bones confirms they were wolves with no detectable dog ancestry.
  • Isotopic analysis shows a seal- and fish-rich diet that mirrors human food on the island, implying provisioning or close cohabitation.
  • One Bronze Age wolf survived a severe limb injury, and one genome shows unusually low diversity, patterns consistent with isolation or possible human management.