Thank you, neither do I ;-)
> Most domestic alynxes are from populations that have had
> centuries of breeding, and been bred for particular purposes. Hence
> large variations. They can still interbreed, just like dogs.
> I imagine breeding alynxes is a bit more difficult than
> breeding dogs. On the other hand, the variations between breeds are
> less (as you would expect), and perhaps the Yinkin cult magics (and
> the occasional awakened alynx) makes the difference.
Which is a possibility. My arguments against is that I think you would have to keep the cats penned up to avoid mixing the breeds. It does not seem lto me ike what the heortlings would do. Both for practical reasons (it's hard to keep a cat locked in, as all closed doors are an affront to cats. I do not think it is easier if the cat is intelligent), and for religous reasons, I mean: Lock up the freedom loving brother of Orlanth?
Another more important question is: Why, in that case, would the heortlings want
different breeds of alynx?
Different breeds of dogs where often used in different forms of hunting. Some
smaller dogs, like dachshounds, where used for going into rabbit or fox holes
to scare them out. I could possibly see alynxes going into rabbitholes, not for
scaring but for catching the a rabbit. The cat would be at a distinct
disadvantage, hemmed in, not able to leap, and would probably get some serious
rabbit kicks in the face.
And large alynxes of course have their uses. I'm not certain what uses, but
some I imagine.
Well, I have obvously stirred up some emotions regarding whether dogs, wolves and coyotes are the same species or not. This was not my intention, sorry.
> From: Carl Fink <carlf_at_panix.com>
> The wolf-dog hybrids are so uncontroversial that I've met two. At
> least some mammalogists go so far as to say, "Dogs are gray wolves."
> (See http://www.kcdata.com/~wolf2dog/wayne2.htm.)
Yes, I know. As I said, the wolf is a disputed case, and I certainly never said that there are no wolf-dog _hybrids_. As far as I know, but my sources are a couple of years old, the issue, whether dogs and wolves can interbreed, is still under debate. Some suggest that the latin name for common dog should be changed to reflect this possible nearer relation to wolves. I do not wish to dispute that, I suspend my judgement, and let those in the know sort it out.
As for the wolf-dog hybrids you have seen, are they fertile? That wolves and dogs can produce offspring does not make them the same species, the crucial point is that they should be able to produce _fertile_ offspring. That is what decides if two animals are of the same species.
> From: "Daniel Fahey" <goihlk_at_zedat.fu-berlin.de>
> I've known half wolves and half coyotes. You may be right in that dogs
> cannot have fertile offspring with coyotes and wolves, but I've never heard
> that and there're enuf mixes around to give the impression that these are
> normal.
Well, I could be wrong. I do know that many of the dogs said to be mixes of dog and wolf here in sweden have not stood up to scientific tests, but have proved to be large wolf-like dogs. There are always some breeders who want to impress their potential customers with fake pedigrees.
The wolf is always stated to be the closest relative to the dog. If dogs can interbreed with coyotes, then, I hope, we're going to see some changes in the cladistics of canines.
This is not an important point for me. I have always found it irksome that shadow cats have been presented with such a humungous size span (from 3 to, say, 65 kg), which, probably, was a result of their having 1D6 SIZ. An annoyance, no more. There is, as I earlier stated, probably some mythological/magical reason for it. I hope it's a fun one, otherwise I'll have to invent one of my own.
I'm looking forward to seeing how they are treated in Anaxiel's roster.
--
Henrix
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