# Can a Hyena and a dog produce offspring? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 24, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463 "2005-08-24T18:22:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/1 "2005-08-24T18:22:15Z")
One person from Jamaica told me that she had a hyena/Alsatian cross. Is this possible? Is there a breed of dog called “hyenas”? I always thought that they were not related. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/2 "2005-08-24T18:28:10Z")
[From here:](http://www.wearesites.com/Personal/Hyenas/spotted_faq.php) Q: Okay, so could a hyena cross with either a cat or a dog and produce offspring? A: No way! In order to produce offspring, even sterile ones, the parents have to be sufficiently closely related to at least be in the same family of animals. Dogs are in one family, the Canidae. Cats are in another, the Felidae. And as I’ve just said above, hyenas are in their own family. They couldn’t possibly produce offspring with any canid or felid, not even with artificial fertilization in a laboratory. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/3 "2005-08-24T18:28:13Z")
The hyena is _Hyaena brunnea_, different genus then the dog _Canis familiaris_. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/4 "2005-08-24T18:30:50Z")
Maybe the perosn was referring to an [African Wild Dog.](http://www.gotdogsonline.com/african-wild-dog/the-african-wild-dog/the-african-wild-dog.shtml). They are real dogs and look a little like hyenas. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/5 "2005-08-24T18:42:04Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Maybe the perosn was referring to an [African Wild Dog.](http://www.gotdogsonline.com/african-wild-dog/the-african-wild-dog/the-african-wild-dog.shtml). They are real dogs and look a little like hyenas. The African Wild Dog _Lycaon pictus_ is a different genus than domestic dogs (_Canis_) and I have never heard of any hybridization between the two. In any case, even if it were possible it is wildly unlikely that anyone would have any such animal as a pet. A hyena-dog cross is pure and utter bullshit. The person who told you this was either lying or delusional. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/6 "2005-08-24T18:49:11Z")
Might it have been meant facetiously, along the same lines as Daniel Boone being half man, half grizzly, and half alligator? As in, the dog is an Alsatian, but the owner is impressed with its bite strength, or the like. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/7 "2005-08-24T18:55:08Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Might it have been meant facetiously, along the same lines as Daniel Boone being half man, half grizzly, and half alligator? As in, the dog is an Alsatian, but the owner is impressed with its bite strength, or the like. Well, OK, they could have been joking too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/8 "2005-08-24T19:38:30Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The African Wild Dog _Lycaon pictus_ is a different genus than domestic dogs (_Canis_) and I have never heard of any hybridization between the two. In any case, even if it were possible it is wildly unlikely that anyone would have any such animal as a pet. I had always assumed that the African Wild Dog was in the genus _Canis_. Do you know the rationale for giving them a seperate genus? Morphologically, they sure seem very close to dogs/wolves, at least superficially. Is there DNA data that places them more distant? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/9 "2005-08-24T20:10:30Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I had always assumed that the African Wild Dog was in the genus _Canis_. Do you know the rationale for giving them a seperate genus? Morphologically, they sure seem very close to dogs/wolves, at least superficially. Is there DNA data that places them more distant? That is the traditional classification. I believe that it may be in part because of dentition, the lower third molar being much smaller than in Canisl. At least one reference I checked gave them their own subfamily, Lycaoninae, separate from Canis, Vulpes, etc. However, after checking around I found [this cladogram](http://genetics.nbii.gov/systematics.html) (scroll down), based on more recent information, which indicates they are nested within _Canis_. If this is correct, they of course should be in the same genus. In this case it is quite possible that they could hybridize, since I believe all members of the genus produce fertile hybrids. However, I suspect that a _Lycaon_ would be far more likely to eat a domestic dog than to mate with it, so I stand by my statement that hybridization would be unlikely. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/10 "2005-08-24T20:19:43Z")
[Here’s](http://www.idir.net/~wolf2dog/wayne2.htm) a more technical reference, although it doesn’t have much more detail on the relationship between Canis and Lycaon. The other wolf-like canid that has traditionally been placed in a different genus is the Indian Dhole, _Cuon alpinus_. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/11 "2005-08-24T21:45:50Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > One person from Jamaica told me that she had a hyena/Alsatian cross. Is this possible? Is there a breed of dog called “hyenas”? I always thought that they were not related. Well… you believed the “WENDY” story, so they were going for broke. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/12 "2005-08-24T22:55:46Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > However, after checking around I found [this cladogram](http://genetics.nbii.gov/systematics.html) (scroll down), based on more recent information, which indicates they are nested within _Canis_. If this is correct, they of course should be in the same genus. In this case it is quite possible that they could hybridize, since I believe all members of the genus produce fertile hybrids. Interestingly, that cladogram puts the wolf/dog split at 1.5M years ago. Not sure if the time scale is meant to be accurate, but I doubt anyone would support that assertion. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/13 "2005-08-24T23:59:04Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Well… you believed the “WENDY” story, so they were going for broke. 😉 Touche` ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/14 "2005-08-25T00:26:07Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Interestingly, that cladogram puts the wolf/dog split at 1.5M years ago. Not sure if the time scale is meant to be accurate, but I doubt anyone would support that assertion. Yeah, that definitely seems way off. I think even the research that has tentatively pushed the domesticaton date back over 100,000 years B.P. has been criticized. 1 -1.5 million years B.P. seems closer to the coyote/wolf split ( shown on that cladogram as ~ 3 million B.P., which also seems too far out ), not the wolf/dog split ( if you even want to call it split - many wouldn’t ). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/15 "2005-08-25T00:57:25Z")
[Half-cat, half-dog found in Madagascar.](http://www.nwf.org/internationalwildlife/2000/fossa.html) ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/16 "2005-08-25T01:14:07Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Well… you believed the “WENDY” story, so they were going for broke. 😉 Wendy story? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/17 "2005-08-25T01:29:26Z")
> [@BluePitbull](#): > > Wendy story? 😕 [Wendy story](http://www.thehumorarchives.com/humor/0000797.html) ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/18 "2005-08-25T02:53:17Z")
I have many fond memories of telling that joke on the beach in Jamaica around about 1999. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/19 "2005-08-25T06:16:13Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > [Half-cat, half-dog found in Madagascar.](http://www.nwf.org/internationalwildlife/2000/fossa.html) I don’t know where you got that headline, but calling a fossa “half dog and half cat” is incorrect, especially in the context of this thread. The article makes it pretty clear that the fossa has an ancient lineage, and is not a hybrid. **Tamerlane** : Yes, one certainly could argue whether or not there is actually a “split” between the wolf and dog lines. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463/20 "2005-08-25T14:01:47Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I don’t know where you got that headline I made it up in what turned out to be a wildly successful Whoosh attempt. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-hyena-and-a-dog-produce-offspring/318463.md?page=2)