14 Nov 2020

James McIntyre: singing dogs and intersex pigs

From Saturday Morning, 10:16 am on 14 November 2020
James 'Mac' McIntyre

James 'Mac' McIntyre Photo: supplied

For decades he's been studying one of the rarest and most publicity shy breeds of dog on the planet.

Now American zoologist and retired biology teacher James 'Mac' McIntyre has made his breakthrough discovery.

Through DNA tests conducted on animals trapped on a series of intrepid expeditions through Papua New Guinea and West Papua, he's managed to establish that the New Guinea Singing Dog- also known as the New Guinea Highland Wild Dog- still survives in the wild.

Until this discovery the breed was only thought to survive in a captive (and highly inbred) population scattered around the globe. Mac's the founder of the New Guinea Highland Wild Dog Foundation and has another highly specialised research interests: intersex pigs in Vanuatu.

New Guinea Highland Wild Dog

New Guinea Highland Wild Dog Photo: supplied