being mistaken for wolves by trained biologists. In The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Charles Darwin wrote:Several years ago, I saw confined in the Zoological Gardens of London a female hybrid from an English dog and jackal, which even in this the first generation was so sterile that, as I was assured by her keeper, she did not fully exhibit her proper periods; but this case, from numerous instances have occurred of fertile hybrids from these two animals, was certainly exceptional. Robert Armitage Sterndale mentioned experimental golden jackal/dog hybrids from British India in his Natural History of Mammals in India and Ceylon, noting that glaring jackal traits could be exhibited in hybrids even after three generations of crossing them with dogs. In Russia, golden jackal/Lapponian Herder hybrids were bred as sniffer dogs because jackals have a superior sense of smell and Lapponian Herders are good cold climate dogs. Also, Fox Terrier, Norwegian Lundehund, and Spitz blood were combined to create the Sulimov dog. As well as a superior sense of smell, important at low temperatures where substances are less volatile and therefore less pungent, Sulimov dogs are small-sized and can work in confined spaces. When tired, their normally curled tails droop, making it clear to the handler that the dog needs to be rested. The jackal hybrids were bred by Klim Sulimov, senior research assistant at the D.S. Likhachev Scientific Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Environmental Protection in Russia. Male jackal pups had to be fostered on a Siberian Husky bitch in order to imprint the jackals on dogs. Female jackals accepted male Huskies more readily. The half-breed jackal-dogs were difficult to train and were bred back to Huskies to produce quarter-breed hybrids (quadroons). These hybrids were small, agile, trainable and had an excellent sense of smell. Twenty-five jackal-dog hybrids are used by Aeroflot at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow for functions including bomb-sniffing. Their breeding program dates back to 1975, but it was not applied to bomb detection until 2002. References External links Wolf Dog resources Wolf dogs Hybrid Dingoes BBC News: Sulimov Dogs Moscow News: Sulimov Dogs Dogotes and Coydogs Coydogs WolfSource Dogs Canis lupus dingo Wolves Coyotes Jackals