Social Studies

This WILD TV segment introduces John Stokes, and some friends, who are a part of the Tracking Project in New Mexico. A tracker reads the prints on the ground made by an animal or person. Mr. Stokes teaches us how to be trackers in this clip. To be a tracker, you must move slowly, be very quiet, and stay downwind of whatever you are tracking. We also learn how to make a tracking stick, which can help get even more information.

In this video segment from Nature, we learn that dogs were the first creatures to be domesticated. Ancient people thought of dogs as creatures of magic and as spiritual guardians. Dogs were often sacrificed and buried with people to protect them with their magical powers. In Mexico today, hairless Xolo (SHOW-low) dogs are believed to heal pain. Around the world dogs are useful to people for protection because of their bark, which acts as an alarm and can intimidate strangers. Barking dogs are a stronger deterrent for burglars than a burglar alarm.

In this video segment from WILD TV, meet Joyce Faye, an animal photographer. She visits animal shelters in the Albuquerque, New Mexico area to photograph the homeless animals awaiting adoption. There are 26,000 dogs picked up every year in Albuquerque. Faye volunteers her time and expertise taking photographs of the dogs and cats and displays them on her web site. She hopes that people will rescue an animal from the shelter and make it a pet. Faye encourages us to do what we can to make the world a better place. Even small gestures make a difference.

In this Nature video, we learn how the Inuits of the Arctic Circle rely on their dogs. Existing on a diet of snow and seal blubber (fat), these dogs pull the sleds of the Inuits and protect them from wild animals. Multiple dogs pull together to maintain the stability of the sled. Sled dogs sometimes run the equivalent of five marathons (5 x 26.2 miles = 131 miles) per day. They will be the first to fall through the ice if there is a crack, but they recover from the cold plunge quickly. The dogs have evolved to master the harsh environment.

This video from Nature describes the history and uses of the dogs of Papua New Guinea. Men from the Akepangi tribe set out to hunt at dawn. They believe the dogs they take with them have supernatural abilities to track down prey. The dogs are called the singing dogs because they howl but do not bark. In the hunt, the dogs find an opossum in the canopy (upper layer of vegetation). The dogs are more valuable to the hunters than their bows and arrows. The tribe believes the dogs tell them where the evil spirits lie in the jungle.

In this video segment from Nature, learn about the evolution of dogs. More than 750 million people share their lives with dogs today. This video explores theories of how dogs became a domestic pet. One theory is ancient people tamed wild wolves. This theory is challenged by the idea that wolves evolved themselves into a different species. Biologist Raymond Coppinger believes human garbage heaps may have caused wolves to be drawn to feed on them. Competition among the wolves may have caused them to transform into "dogs,” that were not frightened of humans who came to the dumps.