Knocking on the wolf’s door: range overlap and hybridization potential of the Canis genus in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The ranges of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) and the golden jackal (Canis aureus) are rapidly expanding across Europe, increasingly overlapping due to habitat changes, climate shifts, and adaptation to human-modified landscapes. This overlap raises important ecological and genetic questions, particularly regarding hybridization within the Canis genus. The Dinaric-Balkan region, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, is a key area for studying these processes due to the coexistence of wolves, jackals, and free-ranging dogs. Free-ranging dogs share habitats with both wild relatives, making them potential mediators of gene flow and hybridization. We analysed 15 microsatellite loci in 184 Canis individuals (56 free-ranging dogs, 48 jackals, and 80 wolves) to detect hybridisation signals in these species. We found four putative dog-wolf hybrids and one dog-jackal hybrid. Wolf-jackal hybrids were not detected, despite increasing range overlap revealed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) implemented within the geographic information system (GIS) environment. Given that wolves from Bosnia and Herzegovina form part of a continuous Dinaric-Balkan population, the putative hybrids detected in this study may reflect dispersing individuals rather than spatially restricted occurrences. Our findings provide insights into Canis dynamics in the region and highlight the need for coordinated, transboundary monitoring and further research to better understand hybridization processes and gene flow within Canis populations across this area.