Why are Tibetan Mastiffs not afraid of snow, living comfortably at minus 40 degrees Celsius?

Scientists reveal why Tibetan mastiffs are not afraid of strong winds and snow and can live comfortably even at minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Of all the dog breeds in China, the Tibetan Mastiff is the most famous. This is a dog breed that originated on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and became popular with the Chinese in the 1990s and early 2000s.

At that time, the price of Tibetan Mastiff was very high, even as high as one million dollars. In fact, in the early days, Tibetan Mastiff was only popular among small herdsmen.

In the 1980s, because of its unique appearance and domineering personality, it became popular abroad and was sought after by many foreigners. In the 1990s, the Tibetan Mastiff movement returned to China, setting off a wave of the "Tibetan Mastiff craze".

In its heyday, many people were proud to own a Tibetan mastiff, but after that, the outcome was completely predictable. After 2013, the Tibetan Mastiff movement gradually came to an end, causing people's evaluation of Tibetan Mastiffs to plummet from the initial praise.

In fact, Tibetan mastiffs are not suitable for raising in low-altitude areas at all. As an upland breed, they are large and hardy and can really do well in the highlands rather than being kept in captivity in cities.

In the photo, the two Tibetan mastiffs are not afraid of the strong wind and snow. In the weather of minus 40 degrees, they still stick to the sheepfold, leaning against the fence, using the ground as a bed and the thick snow as a blanket, curled up to sleep.

In this environment, most other dog breeds can't stand it for a long time, but the Tibetan Mastiff can still persist, which shows its adaptability in the alpine environment. So how did such an excellent Highland dog breed come into being?

There are many theories about the birth of the Tibetan Mastiff on the Internet. For example, in "ten dogs give birth to mastiffs": the herdsmen lock the newborn puppies in a small room, do not give them food, let the puppies suffer, and will fight when they are hungry. Finally, the fiercest and strongest puppy in existence is the Tibetan Mastiff.

Of course, these are just stories, with details of one's imagination thrown in. In fact, there were no dogs on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the early days, and they were all brought by early immigrants.

The dogs brought by early humans to live on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are essentially low-altitude dogs. Like most dogs, the possibility of surviving in the natural environment of the plateau is minimal.

However, the appearance of today's Tibetan Mastiff is quite different from that of many high-altitude dog breeds, with their thick fur and lion-like bulk. This is the main reason they are hunted by foreigners.

The Tibetan Mastiff changes to adapt to the changing environment. After their ancestors entered the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they continued to multiply and began to come into contact with wild Tibetan wolves.

We all know that dogs were domesticated by some gray wolves in the late Pleistocene, and there is no reproductive isolation from wolves, so some dogs and wolves came together naturally...

Hybridization with ancient Tibetan wolves is the root cause of the Tibetan Mastiff's ability to adapt to high altitudes.

Animals like snow leopards are known to survive long periods in cold, oxygen-deprived environments. To find out the reason, scientists finally discovered a gene called "EPAS1" after a lot of research.

The gene was detected in many high-altitude species such as snow leopards, desert cats, and Tibetan foxes, but not in low-altitude species such as gray wolves, domestic dogs, and yellow-backed jackals.

The study found that the EPAS1 gene can affect the regulation of hemoglobin production in animals, making the body very sensitive to changes in oxygen, even in a hypoxic environment for a long time.

The EPAS1 gene is inherited from puppies, and it is the result of the hybridization of dogs and Tibetan wolves. In addition, they have lived in a cold environment for a long time, so the appearance of these dogs has gradually changed. . For example, they grow huge, and hair and fat thicken, ... helps them adapt to the environment.

Dogs and wolves diverged long ago from a common ancestor, and the two evolved in different directions, but then, by chance, they did intersect.

Scientists constructed a canine phylogenetic tree for the region where the EPAS1 gene is located and found that Tibetan mastiffs' ancestors were likely to have hybridized with wolves in Tibet 24,000 years ago.

History has proved that Tibetan Mastiff is one of the best shepherd dogs on the plateau, and it is also a ferocious dog breed that is no less than wild. With their outstanding skills, they have left their own marks on the long river of history. Herdsmen, known locally as "Snow God".