How wolves became dogs JAN 22 2010 We can imagine wild wolves
scavenging on a rubbish tip on the edge of a village. Most of
them, fearful of men throwing stones and spears, have a very
long flight distance. They sprint for the safety of the forest
as soon as a human appears in the distance. But a few
individuals, by genetic chance, happen to have a slightly
shorter flight distance than the average. Their readiness to
take slight risks -- they are brave, shall we say, but not
foolhardy -- gains them more food than their more risk-averse
rivals. As the generations go by, natural selection favours a
shorter and shorter flight distance, until just before it
reaches the point where the wolves really are endangered by
stonethrowing humans. The optimum flight distance has shifted
because of the newly available food source.