
The taming of the dog, cow, horse, pig and rabbit - dnetesn
https://phys.org/news/2018-11-dog-cow-horse-pig-rabbit.html
======
simplesleeper
I've been wondering for ages why we don't continue activally domesticating
other species - what better way to protect them than to ensure we can
integrate? It may take a while, bit we've managed it in the past with a
fragment of our scientific knowledge

~~~
remir
Wouldn't this make these animals totally dependant on us for survival? This
would be a massive and complex operation on a world already populated by
billions of humans.

If we want to protect these species, we should concentrate our effort in
protecting the environment.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
I don't think it has to be a binary choice. I've often thought Tasmanian
Devils¹ would be a great candidate for domestication, at least while they're
under threat from the facial tumour.²

Tassie Devils live and breed in captivity fine, and they're super cute!

1\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_devil)

2\.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease)

~~~
pvaldes
The problem is that they have a crushing bite to break bones and bad
character. A extra powerful bite in a cute small animal is a complicated
recipe for petting. Sharks have similar issues. They interact with other
sharks biting even when they are trying to express romantic interest.

~~~
TheSpiceIsLife
I wonder if the bad character would be bred out. Could take a while. Dogs have
a lethal bite too so I don’t see that as necessarily an impediment.

~~~
pvaldes
Dogs are of social nature. Tasmanian devils are solitary and oportunist
cannibals. With exceptions of females and its cubs, Tasmanian devils only
tolerate other devils around when there is a lot of food.

------
dpeck
Related specifically to the pig and our relationship to them, the book Lesser
Beasts ([https://smile.amazon.com/Lesser-Beasts-Snout-Tail-
History/dp...](https://smile.amazon.com/Lesser-Beasts-Snout-Tail-
History/dp/0465052746)) is a great read.

------
SideburnsOfDoom
Cats not mentioned. Because they're not fully tamed?

~~~
saurik
There has been a lot of stuff in recent years arguing that cats domesticated
themselves, whereas we domesticated these other animals.

~~~
crooked-v
Domestic cats are also still nearly identical to African wildcats physically
and in social behavior, with the primary differences being lower aggression
levels and greater general sociability. Compare to dogs, where even the most
"wild" dog has morphological differences in skull shape and distinct
differences in social interactions from wolves [1].

[1]: [https://particle.scitech.org.au/earth/eye-contact-between-
di...](https://particle.scitech.org.au/earth/eye-contact-between-dingoes-and-
humans-reveal-clues-of-domestication-process/)

~~~
tlow
From the articles linked research: " Recent work comparing dogs and wolves
suggests that eye contact is an important behaviour underlying these social
bonds; however, it remains unclear how this feature of interspecific social
bonding evolved"

~~~
overcast
Eye contact is a big part of it. There was a documentary about dogs recently,
where they did a simple experiment by placing a piece of food inside a cage
that could not be opened by anyone but a human. First they let the wolf go at
it, and it just went crazy trying to find a way in, inevitably giving up to do
something else. The dog on the other hand tried for a bit, and then turn
around and looked directly at the human for assistance.

