Recently DNA studies have shown that basenjis branched off from dog breed development at the beginning of dog history. The breed is indigenous to the central part of Africa in an ecological niche called closed forest.  You can see closed forest in the background of the above 1987 photo.  The type developed without records or registrations and lived in association with the local people.  It was not until the dogs left their homelands that records and registrations were kept.  The African Stock Project began in the 1990's with records of imports from 1978 and expanded to include all the available information on African foundation stock from the earliest successful imports of basenjis in the 1930's. This is the official report of the Project.

Read More About the Project, how to send information and acknowledgements.