National Geographic: Taming the Wild (Foxes have been domesticated)

[Destino]

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/ratliff-text

"Hello! How are you doing?" Lyudmila Trut says, reaching down to unlatch the door of a wire cage labeled "Mavrik." We're standing between two long rows of similar crates on a farm just outside the city of Novosibirsk, in southern Siberia, and the 76-year-old biologist's greeting is addressed not to me but to the cage's furry occupant. Although I don't speak Russian, I recognize in her voice the tone of maternal adoration that dog owners adopt when addressing their pets.

Mavrik, the object of Trut's attention, is about the size of a Shetland sheepdog, with chestnut orange fur and a white bib down his front. He plays his designated role in turn: wagging his tail, rolling on his back, panting eagerly in anticipation of attention. In adjacent cages lining either side of the narrow, open-sided shed, dozens of canids do the same, yelping and clamoring in an explosion of fur and unbridled excitement. "As you can see," Trut says above the din, "all of them want human contact." Today, however, Mavrik is the lucky recipient. Trut reaches in and scoops him up, then hands him over to me. Cradled in my arms, gently jawing my hand in his mouth, he's as docile as any lapdog.

Except that Mavrik, as it happens, is not a dog at all. He's a fox. Hidden away on this overgrown property, flanked by birch forests and barred by a rusty metal gate, he and several hundred of his relatives are the only population of domesticated silver foxes in the world. (Most of them are, indeed, silver or dark gray; Mavrik is rare in his chestnut fur.) And by "domesticated" I don't mean captured and tamed, or raised by humans and conditioned by food to tolerate the occasional petting. I mean bred for domestication, as tame as your tabby cat or your Labrador. In fact, says Anna Kukekova, a Cornell researcher who studies the foxes, "they remind me a lot of golden retrievers, who are basically not aware that there are good people, bad people, people that they have met before, and those they haven't." These foxes treat any human as a potential companion, a behavior that is the product of arguably the most extraordinary breeding experiment ever conducted.

related video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enrLSfxTqZ0

The interesting thing is that in domesticating these foxes we are learning how dogs were domesticated and how the act of breeding for temperament actually changes the animals physical appearance.

For those of you thinking "can I buy one" the answer is maybe. If your state allows it and you have 7,000 bucks to spend on one. The Russians aren't going to give Americans their new super pets for cheap.

No word on when they'll share their tiny giraffes with us

[techboy]

The interesting thing is that in domesticating these foxes we are learning how dogs were domesticated and how the act of breeding for temperament actually changes the animals physical appearance.

I've seen these foxes on a couple of documentaries recently about the origin of dogs. One expert on one of the shows theorized that during domestication, we selected for traits normally associated with juveniles- friendliness, dependence, etc., and a side effect of that was that they tended to look juvenile too- big eyes, etc.

The dependence is interesting too. I saw one study where a group of researchers raised wolf cubs just as they did puppies, and then ran a test where food was trapped and couldn't be gotten to. The wolves kept trying, without even thinking to look for help from a human, while the dogs tried to get the food for about 10 seconds, then did exactly what my dogs do... turned to the human handler for assistance.

[Thiebear]

Foxes are top 10 smelliest animals.

I'll take the mini kiss giraffe.

[PeterMP]

I've made the argument several times related to Guns, Germs and Steele that the fact that a particular species has not been domesticated is not good evidence that is undomesticable.

I think this helps make that point.

[Stew]

the ones near my house make the craziest, creepiest scream like sounds Ive ever heard. Like a baby screaming almost, and the sounds are always coming from the woods, at night. Creepy.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I'm still waiting for the Russians to make me my Whoolly Mammoth. But yeah, fascinating story and video. Thanks for posting.

Hmmm, doing some quick research on the differences between a dog and a fox, I found out that there are rumors of dog-fox hybrids. Especially in England. They call them doxes. It's never been genetically confirmed though.

---------- Post added April-28th-2011 at 06:33 PM ----------

the ones near my house make the craziest, creepiest scream like sounds Ive ever heard. Like a baby screaming almost, and the sounds are always coming from the woods, at night. Creepy.

You might have just solved my mystery. Recently moved out to the semi-countryside (surrounded by woods anyway) and every now and then at night I hear something screaming outside. I ran out one night but it took off through the brush before I could get a look at it. I've been leaning toward chupacabra but a fox makes sense. And every now and then I hear my cat fighting with something. Its definitely not two cats, as you'll hear both if it was. Could a fox easily kill my cat if it wanted to? Maybe I shouldn't let him out at night?

[HailGreen28]

I'm still waiting for the Russians to make me my Whoolly Mammoth. But yeah, fascinating story and video. Thanks for posting.

Hmmm, doing some quick research on the differences between a dog and a fox, I found out that there are rumors of dog-fox hybrids. Especially in England. They call them doxes. It's never been genetically confirmed though.

---------- Post added April-28th-2011 at 06:33 PM ----------

You might have just solved my mystery. Recently moved out to the semi-countryside (surrounded by woods anyway) and every now and then at night I hear something screaming outside. I ran out one night but it took off through the brush before I could get a look at it. I've been leaning toward chupacabra but a fox makes sense. And every now and then I hear my cat fighting with something. Its definitely not two cats, as you'll hear both if it was. Could a fox easily kill my cat if it wanted to? Maybe I shouldn't let him out at night?

Youtube's blocked at my job, so I don't know which of these is good, but check out these videos.

http://www.google.com/search?q=fox+scream+youtube&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Only sound in the woods creepier to me, is a bobcat screaming at night.

[TheGoodBits]

Youtube's blocked at my job, so I don't know which of these is good, but check out these videos.

http://www.google.com/search?q=fox+scream+youtube&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Only sound in the woods creepier to me, is a bobcat screaming at night.

Bobcat cries are scary as ****. I was camping right on the New River in WV during a canoe trip and one night something (pretty sure a bobcat), walked right into the middle of our campsite and let out the most terrible sound I've ever heard. I didn't know what it was at the time so it was way worse than if I heard it now.

[thebluefood]

Fascinating story and video.

...so...who's gonna give me one of those cute little fellas for Christmas?

[Spaceman Spiff]

the ones near my house make the craziest, creepiest scream like sounds Ive ever heard. Like a baby screaming almost, and the sounds are always coming from the woods, at night. Creepy.

Yes, they make crazy ass sounds at night. I have no idea what's going on in there and I'm not sure I want to find out.

Anyway, my grandfather was a farmer and had a pet fox at one point. Was out walking on his property one day and came across a baby fox...scooped him up, took him back to the farmhouse and raised it like a dog. It died after being hit by a car....not sure how long he had it for but my dad remembers it vividly.

[Destino]

You might have just solved my mystery. Recently moved out to the semi-countryside (surrounded by woods anyway) and every now and then at night I hear something screaming outside. I ran out one night but it took off through the brush before I could get a look at it. I've been leaning toward chupacabra but a fox makes sense. And every now and then I hear my cat fighting with something. Its definitely not two cats, as you'll hear both if it was. Could a fox easily kill my cat if it wanted to? Maybe I shouldn't let him out at night?

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-lovable-animals-you-didnt-know-are-secretly-terrifying/

Check out number 4. Foxes scream and it's creepy as hell when they do.

As for your cat a fox will not "easily kill it" and will in fact try to avoid your cat. Your cat however is likely stuck on aggression level "stupid" and will push it's luck. I had a cat that did that and the fox damaged her spinal cord leaving her with limited use of her back legs. If you cat is constantly fighting with wildlife it's a good idea to keep it inside.

[Springfield]

We have a very rare breed of dog at home. He's often been compared to a fox and he's actually more closely related to a dingo. I've heard that the breed off dog we have can go for $7,000 each but we got him for free as a puppy.

As for foxes howling at night, our house faces protected land. Those little ****s can scream bloody murder. Very interesting to listen on nights when they are really active.

[Stew]

We have a very rare breed of dog at home. He's often been compared to a fox and he's actually more closely related to a dingo. I've heard that the breed off dog we have can go for $7,000 each but we got him for free as a puppy.

.

I have a dog that fits this description as well. Its an ancient breed of dog, named after the island it was discovered on. Its called a Jindo. Looks just like a fox, but is closer in relation to a Korean wolf actually. I dont believe they go for 7 grand a pup though. What kind of dog do you own?

[Destino]

Fascinating story and video.

...so...who's gonna give me one of those cute little fellas for Christmas?

I'll take one of those too if someone is giving them away. I'll name it Chase and take it to my dads house to thoroughly confuse his Beagle.

[DCSaints_fan]

I've made the argument several times related to Guns, Germs and Steele that the fact that a particular species has not been domesticated is not good evidence that is undomesticable.

I think this helps make that point.

Diamond never claimed that species were undomesticable, just that some were much more readily domesticated than others. He theorized that in earlier times, people did not have the resources to breed and select through the multiple generations necessary in order to domesticate.