

The stray dog ecosystem of Moscow - dood
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/628a8500-ff1c-11de-a677-00144feab49a.html?a

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dangoldin
This was a great article! Thanks for posting.

I noticed a bit of this went I was visiting the ruins of Pompeii. Many stray
dogs were waiting by the food court area but there were a few that followed us
for the entire day. I'm not sure why they chose over everyone else but they
did end up with some food.

It's possible that the strays that chose to follow us may not be allowed into
the food court by the other dogs.

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flooha
Wow, the metro dogs are particularly interesting. I can see myself "adopting"
one that shared my commute.

 _...they definitely do clean the city. They keep the population of rats
down._

I wonder if the dogs have learned to relieve themselves in places more
acceptable to people or if the people just tolerate it. Piles of crap on the
train is not very appealing.

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kqr2
I wonder if Dawkins is aware of this ecosystem?

Recent discussion: the truth dogs reveal about evolution

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1057835>

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ghshephard
I'd be interested in seeing what Brian Thomas's analysis of the ecosystem is.
I couldn't help but think of this article:
<http://everything2.com/title/Vampire+Population+Ecology> as I read about the
Humans and Strays co-existing with each other.

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10ren
The selection for intelligence is appealing, but the low rate of reproduction
impedes evolution. Although breeding by-design is probably a more effective
selector, we don't breed for intelligence in a community of dogs nor for the
inter-pack relationships, and intelligence is more effective in communities.

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jcnnghm
I thought that, by far, the most interesting bit was that some of the dogs had
learned to use the transportation system. I think we underestimate the
intelligence of animals.

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toothcomb
Great article. Reminds me of the dogs in Sri Lanka. What I couldn't work out -
was whether they were being looked after and by whom. I don't think they were
aggressive though.

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earl
The dogs, from experience, are well fed enough to ignore the post-drinking
blintz I tried to share.

Several also keep a regular schedule on the metro, riding at the same times
and getting on and off at the same stops. I brought enough food to become
friends w/ several whose schedule overlapped with mine.

