| 28
November 2002
Asian dogs
I was desperate,
somehow unable to make the mad dash, as the Thais were doing, across one
of Bangkok's busy highways. As the vehicles sped past me at a thousand
miles a minute, I thought glumly: I'm doomed, marooned to spend the rest
of my life on the wrong side of the highway.
Then I noticed about 50 meters away from me a grizzled old Assoi,
sitting on the sidewalk watching the traffic. Let me explain: "Assoi"
is a term I coined out of the Tagalog aso, for dog and the Thai soi,
which means a small street or alley. In other words, "Assoi"
would be the equivalent of our "Askal" (from asong kalye).
I suddenly realized Assoi wasn't just idly sitting there. He was
preparing to cross, his sights set, even knowing which direction to
look. Suddenly our eyes met and he smiled, giving me a look that said:
"Hey kiddo, what's your problem? I do this a hundred times a
day."
So when he started to cross, I followed. No, he didn't dash across the
highway like people did. He walked, head high up in the air, confident
and nonchalant. The cars, vans, trucks, even Ford Expeditions, slowed
down for him--and for me.
We made it to the island in the middle of the highway, where he decided,
well, to mark his latest crossing, a tree here, a tree there. Oh Assoi,
I thought, must you be so macho about all this? Oh Pinoy, he seemed to
be talking back, must you be so impatient?
To make a long story short, we eventually made it to the other side of
the highway. I thanked him, in Thai of course (kop khun khap), and went
my way while marveling at the wonders of dog evolution, as well as
dog-people co-evolution, in Asia.
I'm not surprised a genetics study from the Royal Institute of
Technology in Stockholm, published in the Nov. 22 issue of Science,
suggests our modern dog, Canis familiaris, may have originated in East
Asia.
The Swedish team, headed by Peter Savolainen, compared DNA from several
hundred dogs from all over the world and found there was much more
diversity among the dogs from China, Thailand, Cambodia, Tibet, Korea
and Japan when compared to those from Europe, West Asia, Africa and
Arctic America. This genetic diversity suggests that the dogs have been
around in those East and Southeast Asian countries much longer, giving
more time for all that variation to emerge.
The scientists were looking at mitochondrial DNA, which is transmitted
through females. Based on the comparisons of DNA of dogs and wolves, the
Swedes further speculated that the "canine Eves" in East Asia
date back about 15,000 years. Around that time, it seems that East
Asians were able to domesticate wolves.
Well, that's one theory. Another is that the wolves domesticated humans,
gingerly approaching our hunter ancestors for food scraps and eventually
convincing them they could be even more helpful for hunting and for
guarding camp sites, all in exchange for room and board, with a bit of
human affection thrown into the deal.
Traveling around Asia, I find that dogs have retained a lifestyle
halfway between domestication and the feral state, with varying degrees
depending on the culture. The street dogs in the Philippines are a
skinny, mangy lot that's suspicious of--even hostile to--people. All for
good reason considering how they're beaten up, kicked around and
slaughtered for "pulutan" (bar chow).
In contrast, Thai street dogs are well fed and look quite fit. They're
generally friendlier with people, which suggests they are treated well.
Yet they do maintain some distance, almost as if they want to retain
their independence, tending to favor the company of other dogs rather
than people. The evolution of East Asian dogs was pretty much left to
natural selection, unlike in Western countries where more than a hundred
breeds were developed by humans, selectively choosing traits such as
hairlessness or long bodies.
My highway friend shows, too, how dogs can adapt to life in large
cities, sometimes doing better with traffic than people. I suspect they
think of the cars as extra large and extra fast elephants, but they are
not about to be intimidated.
No doubt, life for East and Southeast Asian dogs can be harsh, perhaps
even more so than for the wolves in the wild. In many Asian countries,
dogs are considered food--in Chinese cities you'll find restaurants
advertising dogmeat, while in Korea dog soup is considered a potent
tonic.
But everywhere, too, in this genetic homeland for dogs, Canis familiaris
provides companionship for humans. Observe the street dogs carefully and
you'll find they reserve their affections for particular people,
remaining loyal to the most abusive of owners.
How did dogs spread out from Asia to the world? It's believed they
accompanied humans who, several thousands of years ago, crossed over
from northern Asia into the Americas, via the Bering Strait. That took
several generations of people and dogs, braving the most difficult of
terrains and the harshest weather.
From my Thai highway experience, I think you can imagine who lead whom
in that historic trek out of Asia.
|
