These pictures were taken by Nutan Khalap (my sister-in-law) on a recent trip to Turkey. Kangals are not dingo-pariah type dogs, but they are still an ancient breed apparently developed without much human intervention, so I'm posting some pictures here.
I just love these huge gentle dogs. We saw a couple in Stellenbosch in South Africa at the Cheetah Outreach centre. They are being used in South Africa for non-lethal predator control, as they are known for their ability to protect livestock from big cats, wolves, jackals and other carnivores.
I've read that Kangal numbers are declining with changing lifestyles in Turkey, so I didn't really expect Nutan to see any. But she asked around and got to see and click them in a couple of places (one of them near Troy). Thanks Nutan!
You can read about Kangals on the net. Although they are sometimes considered the same breed as the Anatolian Shepherd Dog, they are in fact distinct as true Kangals are all from the Sivas province of Turkey. Here is one of the pages about the breed.
Photos: Nutan Khalap
Turkey
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