Discovery of the first hybrid animal combining a wolf and a dog in Greece

The Greek non-governmental organization “Callisto,” which is concerned with wildlife, announced on Friday that genetic analyses have confirmed the first case in Greece of a hybrid animal combining a wolf and a dog.

Biologist Emilia Iwakimido from “Callisto” said at a press conference in Athens that it is “the first confirmed genetic case in Greece.”

Genetic analyses showed that the animal, whose DNA samples were discovered near the city of Thessaloniki, is 45 percent wolf and 55 percent dog.

Ewakiemido explained that this case was discovered during the analysis of 50 wolf samples collected from mainland Greece.

A recent study conducted by “Callisto” over six years reported that the number of wolves, a species protected under the Bern Convention, has steadily increased in Greece, reaching 2,075 wolves.

This number includes at least three packs comprising at least 31 wolves living in Mount Parnitha, near Athens.

The organization “Callisto,” based in Thessaloniki, is concerned with studying the groups and habitats of large carnivorous animals, such as wolves and bears, and working to protect them.

The organization is currently conducting a search to locate the wolf that attacked a five-year-old Serbian girl on September 12 near the coastal resort of Neos Marmaras in the Halkidiki Peninsula in northern Greece.