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Domestication is a gradual process, so there is no precise moment in the history of a given species when it can be considered to have become fully domesticated. Zooarchaeology has identified three classes of animal domesticates: Pets (dogs, cats, ferrets, hamsters, etc.) Livestock (cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, etc.)
Dec 3, 2018 · Refers to any animal that is habituated with humans. For example, you can tame a tiger, but it is still a wild animal which simply got used to interacting with humans. This does not mean that they will always behave like regular domesticated cats. Here’s a real-life incident which happened at the Singapore Night Safari in 2005 - a tame serval ...
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- Overview
- The domestication process
- Domestic vs. tame
Domestic animals such as dogs, cats, and cattle have been genetically adapted over generations to live alongside humans.
Domesticated animals are animals that have been selectively bred and genetically adapted over generations to live alongside humans. They are genetically distinct from their wild ancestors or cousins.
Animal domestication falls into three main groupings: domestication for companionship (dogs and cats), animals farmed for food (sheep, cows, pigs, turkeys, etc.), and working or draft animals (horses, donkeys, camels).
Animals that make good candidates for domestication typically share certain traits:
Domestication happens through selective breeding. Individuals that exhibit desirable traits are selected to be bred, and these desirable traits are then passed along to future generations.
Wolves were the first animal to be domesticated, sometime between 33,000 and 11,000 years ago. After domesticated dogs came the domestication of livestock animals, which coincided with a widespread shift from foraging to farming among many cultures.
Because most major acts of domestication began before recorded history, we don’t know much about the exact process behind the generations-long journey from wild animal to domesticated pet or livestock. What is clear is that the ancestors of domesticated animals must have already exhibited traits that made them somehow useful to humans—traits that may have ranged from tasty meat to warm coats to a natural affinity for people.
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A History of Dogs 101
A 2017 study found evidence that early dog-like wolves were indeed genetically disposed to be friendly. That friendliness may have triggered the first mutually beneficial relationships between humans and dogs, in which people gave dogs food or shelter in exchange for the animals’ service as guards or hunting companions. Other genetic evidence has been discovered to support a similar “self-domestication” theory for cats.
Domestication is not the same as taming. A domestic animal is genetically determined to be tolerant of humans. An individual wild animal, or wild animal born in captivity, may be tamed—their behavior can be conditioned so they grow accustomed to living alongside humans—but they are not truly domesticated and remain genetically wild.
Captive Asian elephants, for example, are often misinterpreted as domesticated, because they have been kept by humans for thousands of years. However, the majority have historically been captured from the wild and tamed for use by humans. Although then can breed in captivity, like big cats and other wild animals, they are not selectively bred, largely because of their long reproductive cycle. For this reason, there are no domesticated breeds of Asian elephants: They remain wild animals.
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Domesticated animals are dependent on humans for their survival and have adapted to living in close proximity to us. One key difference between taming and domesticating animals is the level of human intervention and control. Taming can be done relatively quickly with individual animals, while domestication is a long-term process that requires ...
Apr 30, 2012 · Many species come close, but very few fit the bill. First, domestic animals cannot be picky eaters; they must be able to find enough food in and around human settlements to survive. The herbivores ...
May 2, 2024 · The process of domestication results in a permanent genetic change in a species, leading to characteristics that are reproducibly passed on to offspring, like reduced fear and increased docility. Whereas taming is a behavioral process affecting only the tamed individual, not altering the animal's genetic makeup or reproductive traits. 11.
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Apr 3, 2024 · Animal Domestication About the same time they domesticated plants, people in Mesopotamia began to tame animals for meat, milk, and hides. Hides, or the skins of animals, were used for clothing, storage, and to build tent shelters. Goats were probably the first animals to be domesticated, followed closely by sheep (Ovis aries).
