Dogs are believed to have descended from which wild animal?

The story behind the answer

Wolf is correct: genetic studies show domestic dogs and gray wolves share a recent common ancestor, diverging roughly 20,000–40,000 years ago. Their ability to interbreed and their similar social, cooperative hunting behaviors reflect this close relationship. In contrast, coyotes and jackals are related but more distant, and foxes are in a different genus altogether.

Most researchers think domestication began when less fearful wolves scavenged near human camps. Humans favored the tamest individuals, leading to “self-domestication” and, over generations, to dogs with friendlier temperaments and diverse shapes and sizes. Memory tip: a dog’s “woof” comes from “wolf.”