• Spacehooks@reddthat.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      12 hours ago

      They are domesticated? I’ve seen African wild cats go up to people, purr, and then get angry when food is around just like the ferals in the neighborhood.

      • SippyCup@feddit.nl
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        8 hours ago

        Cats self domesticated. Which suggests their natural behavior isn’t far removed from what we’d expect from domestic animals.

        Dogs were selectively domesticated from some pleistocene species of wolf, from which the modem Gray Wolf also descended. Probably due to initially also exhibiting some of those traits naturally.

        • Rhaedas@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          7 hours ago

          I don’t know what the current standing is, but it was suggested that the domesticated wolves had genetic tendencies to form relationships with humans, i.e. trust them more than the rest of the species. That trait of obedience was the first step, rewarded by food and shelter, and spread by breeding the ones who would continue that characteristic of being trainable.

          Our dogs come from broken wolves.

          • SippyCup@feddit.nl
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            5 hours ago

            More likely than not, these animals were already selecting for those traits before humans got directly involved. Following nomadic humans around is a great way to find an easy meal, especially considering humans and wolves were competing for the same resources, animals that caused problems for those humans would likely have been killed or driven away at the very least.