Just looking for confirmation that black wolves will or won’t be in game?
There is debate in the scientific community over how black wolves came to exist - the gene is first noted in domestic dogs, and it is likely that interbreeding between domestic dogs and wolves may have passed this gene to wild wolves, around 12,000-15,000 years ago. It’s also likely that the black gene was favourably selected for in wild wolves due to it being linked to improved immune function, or better coverage in woodland (making better hunters of dark wolves).
Frontier might have decided not to include black wolves since the mutation might have originated in domestic dogs. I think that’s a bit of a silly reason to leave out what is now a very recognisable coat variation that occurs naturally, and has been documented since the 1800’s, despite existing for thousands of years. Even if the mutation did come from dogs, rather than wolves themselves, it was naturally selected for and beneficial and has now become very well established in wild wolves.
Contrast this to the dingo, recognised in game as a seperate species and with three distinctive colour variations (a wonderful inclusion!). The dingo emerged as a species about 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, when it arrived in Australia as a domestic dog and quickly became feral, under intense selection pressures that carved it into a new and distinct species, though that is also heavily debated by biologists, who are split into schools of categorising dingos as domestic dogs, wolf subspecies or their own species.
So, with all of that considered, I think it makes a lot more sense to include the naturally selected for, relatively common and iconic black wolf variation, rather than leave it out as a “man made” variant, so I hope it will emerge soon! I haven’t found one yet.
Another variation in a similar situation that I hope for is the king cheetah, with 10-50 individuals identified in the wild, compared to one verified sighting of a spotless cheetah, which we do have in game. King cheetahs should certainly have a place if spotless cheetahs are fairly easy to obtain in game!
If these variations aren’t in game yet, I really hope they will be included soon! And thank you Frontier for all of the subtle colour changes we now have, they are wonderful!
There is debate in the scientific community over how black wolves came to exist - the gene is first noted in domestic dogs, and it is likely that interbreeding between domestic dogs and wolves may have passed this gene to wild wolves, around 12,000-15,000 years ago. It’s also likely that the black gene was favourably selected for in wild wolves due to it being linked to improved immune function, or better coverage in woodland (making better hunters of dark wolves).
Frontier might have decided not to include black wolves since the mutation might have originated in domestic dogs. I think that’s a bit of a silly reason to leave out what is now a very recognisable coat variation that occurs naturally, and has been documented since the 1800’s, despite existing for thousands of years. Even if the mutation did come from dogs, rather than wolves themselves, it was naturally selected for and beneficial and has now become very well established in wild wolves.
Contrast this to the dingo, recognised in game as a seperate species and with three distinctive colour variations (a wonderful inclusion!). The dingo emerged as a species about 2,500 to 3,000 years ago, when it arrived in Australia as a domestic dog and quickly became feral, under intense selection pressures that carved it into a new and distinct species, though that is also heavily debated by biologists, who are split into schools of categorising dingos as domestic dogs, wolf subspecies or their own species.
So, with all of that considered, I think it makes a lot more sense to include the naturally selected for, relatively common and iconic black wolf variation, rather than leave it out as a “man made” variant, so I hope it will emerge soon! I haven’t found one yet.
Another variation in a similar situation that I hope for is the king cheetah, with 10-50 individuals identified in the wild, compared to one verified sighting of a spotless cheetah, which we do have in game. King cheetahs should certainly have a place if spotless cheetahs are fairly easy to obtain in game!
If these variations aren’t in game yet, I really hope they will be included soon! And thank you Frontier for all of the subtle colour changes we now have, they are wonderful!
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