I am writing in hopes this may be printed in "The Mailbox" as I imagine the ads on the black and white Ba-
senjis were very confusing to anyone who is not familiar with the backgrounds or who has been acquainted with
Basenjis for only a short time. Therefore, I would like to clarify the situation so that the two lines may be readily
distinguished from one another as theyare entirely different in their genetic make-up. Their most common deno-
minator is that they are both A.K.C. registered, purebred barkless Basenjis, both of which trace their ancestry
directly to Africa.
In order to differentiate between the two bloodlines, I will refer to one as the "FULA" blacks, as most all of
these dogs carry the "FULA" prefix in their registered names and are all direct descendants of the red and white
bitch, named FULA OF THE CONGO, imported from Africa to England, by Miss Veronica Tudor-Williams.
The other I will refer to as the "COPTOKIN" blacks as they were imported from Africa to the United States
by Mrs. Gwendolyn Stanich, whose kennel name is "COPTOKIN".
The "FULA" blacks have been proven to be genetically recessive. This means that two red and white pa-
rents, both must carry the black coloring recessively in order to produce a black and white pup. If two of the
"FULA" blacks are mated, they will produce an entire litter of black and white pups. They follow the same gene-
tic laws as would govern the mating of a tri to a tri, or two reds carrying tri recessively.
The "COPTOKIN" blacks have been proven to be genetically dominant to both red and white and tri. This
means they can produce black and white pups no matter what color dog they are mated to. In time, as the number
of "COPTOKIN" blacks increase, it is predicted that through the mating of two of these blacks, a dog genetically
pure for black and white pups will be obtained. That would mean this dog would produce all black and white
pups in every litter, no matter what color he was mated to. A more complete genetic description is listed in the
"Mailbox" of the May 1968, issue of THE BASENJI. to my knowledge, no complete genetic description has ever
been published on the "FULA" blacks.
One other difference notable between the two lines is that the "FULA" blacks are born with no obvious tan
hairs, but as they mature, tan hairs become visible in varying degrees over different parts of the body; usually
the hind legs, under the tail and behind the ears.
The "COPTOKIN" blacks are born black and white with no obvious tan hairs and remain this way through-
out their lifetime.
I hope this will help anyone liking the black and white Basenjis and wanting to acquire one, to understand
the difference between the two lines so that their choice may be knowledgeable. |