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THE wolf may have returned to Europe, but its numbers could already be dwindling. A new study carried out by Zanete Andersone and colleagues at the Kemeri National Park in Latvia has found that wild wolves have been interbreeding with dogs. Andersone carried out genetic analysis on 31 wild wolves and found mitochondrial DNA suggesting that at least 12 of them were wolf-dog hybrids. Wolves normally prey on dogs but have been known to cross-breed in times of population decline. While this is not conclusive evidence of falling numbers, the authors suggest that intensive wolf-hunting in the region may have forced them to interbreed (Mammalian Biology, vol 67, p 79).