{"id":52603,"date":"2026-02-11T12:32:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/?p=52603"},"modified":"2026-02-11T12:37:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T10:37:28","slug":"dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Dogs on Ukraine\u2019s Front Line Are Developing \u201cWild\u201d Traits \u2014 Study"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Russia\u2019s full-scale war affects not only people, but animals as well. A new scientific study shows that domestic dogs living near the front line have, in a relatively short period of time, changed in both appearance and behavior \u2014 increasingly resembling their wild relatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/08\/science\/ukraine-dogs-war.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>The New York Times<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reported on the findings, citing a study published in December in the scientific journal <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/eva.70182\">Evolutionary Applications<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Did the Researchers Discover?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers analyzed data on 763 dogs across nine regions of Ukraine. The team worked with shelters, veterinarians, and volunteers who collected information about stray animals in both relatively safe and high-risk areas.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the field observations were conducted directly near active combat zones. They were led by Ihor Dykyy, a zoologist from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, who has been serving in eastern Ukraine since 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the researchers, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, thousands of pet dogs have lost their owners. Some families evacuated with their animals, but many dogs were left behind in frontline and occupied settlements. As a result, formerly domestic dogs found themselves in conditions where survival literally depends on their physical traits and behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Changes Were Observed?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientists found that dogs living for extended periods near the front line display more characteristics typical of wild populations \u2014 such as wolves, coyotes, or dingoes:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Short-snouted or extremely elongated breeds are less common;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The average body weight has decreased;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upright ears and straight tails are more frequent;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">White markings in coat coloration are less common;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dogs more often live in groups;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are fewer elderly, sick, or injured animals in the population.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the study focused on domestic dogs, many of them had long been living as strays without human caretakers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat surprised us most was how quickly these changes appeared. The war had been ongoing for a relatively short time, yet the differences between frontline dogs and other populations were already very pronounced.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> said Ma\u0142gorzata Witek, a researcher at the University of Gda\u0144sk.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the researchers emphasize that this is not an example of accelerated evolution. Rather, it reflects natural selection under extremely harsh conditions. War creates an environment in which animals with certain characteristics are more likely to survive. For instance, smaller dogs are less likely to trigger anti-personnel mines, can hide more easily in shelters, and present a smaller target for shrapnel. Such traits increase their chances of survival.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the emergence of \u201cwild\u201d features, most dogs remain dependent on humans \u2014 particularly for food. However, some supplement their diet with plants or small prey. Researchers also documented cases of complete independence from humans, with dogs surviving on their own in combat zones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This study once again reminds us that war destroys not only infrastructure and human lives, but entire ecosystems. Domestic animals left without care are forced into environments where they must rapidly adapt \u2014 or perish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For us, this is an additional argument for why it is important to <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/evacuation\/\">evacuate animals<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/humanitarian-help\/\">support shelters and soldiers who care for animals at their posts<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/sterilization\/\">conduct veterinary missions, and develop sterilization programs<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in frontline regions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Photo: from the UAnimals evacuation flight in April 2025<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Russia\u2019s full-scale war affects not only people, but animals as well. A new scientific study shows that domestic dogs living near the front line have, in a relatively short period of time, changed in both appearance and behavior \u2014 increasingly resembling their wild relatives. The New York Times reported on the findings, citing a study [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>War changes dogs: a study on animals living near the front line<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Scientists have documented how life near the front line is reshaping dogs in Ukraine \u2014 with survival favoring traits typical of wild populations\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"War changes dogs: a study on animals living near the front line\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Scientists have documented how life near the front line is reshaping dogs in Ukraine \u2014 with survival favoring traits typical of wild populations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UAnimals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UAnimals.official\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T10:32:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T10:37:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/imgonline-com-ua-Resize-cm-mm-inch-tsx227BUC5ZhKL.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1890\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1063\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"uanimals\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"uanimals\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"uanimals\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/cd2e7d7fc07ebd95078ebdf7e8c6ff5e\"},\"headline\":\"Dogs on Ukraine\u2019s Front Line Are Developing \u201cWild\u201d Traits \u2014 Study\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-11T10:32:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-11T10:37:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"UAnimals\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/category\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Dogs on Ukraine\u2019s Front Line Are Developing \u201cWild\u201d Traits \u2014 Study\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"UAnimals\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UAnimals\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/logo-1.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/logo-1.svg\",\"width\":172,\"height\":35,\"caption\":\"UAnimals\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UAnimals.official\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uanimals.official\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/cd2e7d7fc07ebd95078ebdf7e8c6ff5e\",\"name\":\"uanimals\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ccdcf0415b0896f6b6807ec61196ce60f9fae6dbef64c64b483f12ae490a4da?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ccdcf0415b0896f6b6807ec61196ce60f9fae6dbef64c64b483f12ae490a4da?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"uanimals\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/uanimals.org\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"War changes dogs: a study on animals living near the front line","description":"Scientists have documented how life near the front line is reshaping dogs in Ukraine \u2014 with survival favoring traits typical of wild populations","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"War changes dogs: a study on animals living near the front line","og_description":"Scientists have documented how life near the front line is reshaping dogs in Ukraine \u2014 with survival favoring traits typical of wild populations","og_url":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/","og_site_name":"UAnimals","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UAnimals.official\/","article_published_time":"2026-02-11T10:32:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-11T10:37:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1890,"height":1063,"url":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/imgonline-com-ua-Resize-cm-mm-inch-tsx227BUC5ZhKL.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"uanimals","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"uanimals","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/"},"author":{"name":"uanimals","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/cd2e7d7fc07ebd95078ebdf7e8c6ff5e"},"headline":"Dogs on Ukraine\u2019s Front Line Are Developing \u201cWild\u201d Traits \u2014 Study","datePublished":"2026-02-11T10:32:22+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-11T10:37:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/"},"wordCount":532,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#organization"},"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/news\/dogs-on-ukraine-s-front-line-are-developing-wild-traits-study\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"UAnimals","item":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/category\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Dogs on Ukraine\u2019s Front Line Are Developing \u201cWild\u201d Traits \u2014 Study"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/","name":"UAnimals","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#organization","name":"UAnimals","url":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/logo-1.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/logo-1.svg","width":172,"height":35,"caption":"UAnimals"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UAnimals.official\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/uanimals.official\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/cd2e7d7fc07ebd95078ebdf7e8c6ff5e","name":"uanimals","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ccdcf0415b0896f6b6807ec61196ce60f9fae6dbef64c64b483f12ae490a4da?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4ccdcf0415b0896f6b6807ec61196ce60f9fae6dbef64c64b483f12ae490a4da?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"uanimals"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/uanimals.org"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52603"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52609,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52603\/revisions\/52609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uanimals.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}