dogs that ride the Moscow metro

In response to my post on Zamalek cats, Scott from Melbourne sends this fascinating piece about stray dogs in Moscow, some of which ride the metro:

“Neuronov says there are some 500 strays that live in the metro stations, especially during the colder months, but only about 20 have learned how to ride the trains. This happened gradually, first as a way to broaden their territory. Later, it became a way of life. ‘Why should they go by foot if they can move around by public transport?’ he asks. “They orient themselves in a number of ways,’ Neuronov adds. ‘They figure out where they are by smell, by recognising the name of the station from the recorded announcer’s voice and by time intervals. If, for example, you come every Monday and feed a dog, that dog will know when it’s Monday and the hour to expect you, based on their sense of time intervals from their biological clocks.'”

There’s one sad story at the beginning about a stray metro dog being stabbed to death by a 22-year-old model (a statue was placed in honor of the dog), but otherwise it’s a nice read.

One other interesting point… The article says that there isn’t much genetic difference between dogs and wolves, but largely a hormonal/behavioral one given that humans obviously prefer less aggressive creatures. It follows that stray dogs would start to revert more toward wolf-like behavior quite easily. The story says this is true in Moscow, and I can promise you that the same is true of Cairo.