Origin of the domestic dog to the domestic dog and modern wolf lineages. The gray wolf is thought to be ancestral to the domestic dog, however its relationship to "C. variabilis", and the genetic contribution of "C. variabilis" to the dog, is the subject of debate. The Zhokhov Island (8,700 YBP) and Aachim (1,700 YBP) canid haplotypes fell within the domestic dog clade, cluster with S805, and also share their haplotypes with – or are one mutation away from – the Tibetan wolf ("C. l. chanco") and the recently-extinct Japanese wolf ("C. l. hodophilax"). This may indicate that these canids retained the genetic signature of
White-tailed prairie dog describing current population trends. This denial is being reconsidered, because former deputy assistant secretary Julie MacDonald has been found to have improperly influenced the scientific basis of the denial. Groups such as the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance are working to legally protect this species. White-tailed prairie dog The white-tailed prairie dog ("Cynomys leucurus") is found in western Wyoming and western Colorado with small areas in eastern Utah and southern Montana. The largest populations are in Wyoming where they are known colloquially as "chiselers". This prairie dog species lives at an elevation between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, generally a higher elevation than