5 Dogs That Are In Danger Of Extinction
When you think about animals that are about to become extinct, you might imagine a bear or whale. However, there are also some dog breeds that are in danger. Continue reading this article to find out what some of these dogs that are in danger of extinction.
Dogs that are in danger of extinction?
You could think that with so many dogs living all over the world, it’s impossible for them to be in danger of extinction. But in this case, we’re referring to certain breeds. Because they were crossed with others dogs, or because of a low birth rate. Therefore, overtime, there are less and less purebred dogs of these breeds that are left on Earth. Here are some examples:
1. Norwegian Lundehund
This dog of Norwegian origin is small and is a spitz type of dog. Their name comes from the prefix “lunde” which means puffin, and from the suffix “hund” meaning dog. The Lundehund, in the picture above, was bred to hunt birds and their eggs.
One of the traits of this dog breed is that each paw has six toes, it has joints in its neck, so they can move their head more than any other dog. These dogs bend their tails towards the back, and their fur can vary between brown, white, and grey.
2. Black and Tan Coonhound
Coonhound means a “raccoon hunter”. They are one of the six varieties recognized within the coonhound family. It was bred in the United States– like all other coonhounds — to help capture the small mammal that destroys fields and crops.
The black and tan coonhound is a large hound, with strong bones, good musculature and a head with a prominent snout. As for its personality, they are very independent, active, and gentle.
3. Puli
This is another one of the dogs that are in danger of extinction on the list. It’s originally from Hungary, they’re small to medium-sized, and known for the “curls” or “dreadlocks” in their fur, which form after they are six months old.
The puli is a herding dog that’s very affectionate, gets along great with children and makes an excellent guard dog. They adapt well to living in cities or on the countryside, but no matter what, they need lots of exercise on a daily basis.
4. Rhodesian Ridgeback
This is an elegant and beautiful dog — known as the Rhodesian Ridgeback — that was bred in South Africa. These dogs are agile and fast (they run up to 65 km/h) which makes them good hunting dogs, companions, or guard dogs.
The Rhodesian Ridgeback has short, reddish-brown fur and a sort of “ridge” on its back. When it comes to their temperature, they are loyal, intelligent, stable, strong, protective, and patient with children.
5. Affenpinscher
The last of the endangered dogs on this list is a little, very peculiar dog. To begin with, its name means “pinscher-monkey” in German, because they have a big round furry head and short, bristly, black fur.
The Affenpinscher is stout dog with pointy ears and a dominant lower jaw. They measures less than 30 cm and weigh little more than three kilos. These dogs are intelligent, alert, affectionate and active.
Unfortunately, there are other breeds of dogs that are in danger of extinction that should have been mentioned: The Crested Chinese Dog, Catalburun, Peruvian Hairless Dog, Bedlington Terrier, Catahoula Leopard, Tibetan Mastiff, the Mudi Dog, Mexican Hairless Dog, Thai Ridgeback and Otterhound.
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Stronen, A. V., Salmela, E., Baldursdottir, B. K., Berg, P., Espelien, I. S., Jarvi, K., … Pertoldi, C. (2017). Genetic rescue of an endangered domestic animal through outcrossing with closely related breeds: A case study of the Norwegian Lundehund. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177429