The age old question of “mom can we get a dog” maybe replaced by another furry and friendly animal, the fox. But I am not talking about foxes taken from their mothers and raised by humans so that they are tame, I am talking about domesticated foxes bred for genes that make them seek human companionship.
In 1958, Soviet biologist, Dmitry Belyaev, began an experiment where he would collect foxes from fur farms. Belyaev started by selecting two kinds of foxes: the aggressive foxes that would growl and bite at humans, and the foxes that simply sniffed at their cages as humans walked by. Belyaev continued to breed his two types of foxes with foxes in their own categories. By 1964 Belyaev had a line of foxes very similar to the wild fox, but he also had a line of foxes that wagged their tails at human approach and craved human attention.
Belyaev's work was passed down to Lyudmila Trut who continues to breed foxes in hopes of determing the genes behind domestication. Through out this project, Trut has come to find an interesting change in the foxes appearance. Foxes that have been bred for their friendliness towards humans are born with floppier ears, piebald coloring, and are born wagging their tails, features not seen in wild foxes. This has led Trut to believe that the genes that chemically change signals in the foxes brain have a “downstream” affect on genes that alter the foxes appearance.
Belyaev's work has extended so far that now there are foxes like Maverick, who leaps into Trut's arms and licks her face. This study is truly fascinating and maybe sooner than you think, you'll be taking your fox for a walk.
Source:
Ratliff, Evan. Taming the Wild. National Geographic, March 2011.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/ratliff-text/1
Posted By: Suzanne Sullivan
Hi Suzanne,
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted a dog but maybe now I can convince my parents to get a fox instead.
Anywho, when you were describing the domesticated foxes, it looked like they were dogs making me think are dogs related to foxes and where would it be on a phylogeny tree? Are foxes related to wolves then? And where did foxes start diverging and evolved to the animal they are today?
These were just a few questions that popped into my head while I was reading your blog.
Posted by Whitney Huynh
This made me think of the fact that foxes and dogs seem to have some converging genes that alter appearance during domestication. The floppy ears and wagging tail is a characteristic observed in domesticated canines. I wonder if the same divergence in appearance happened when canines were in the early years of domestication.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to find out if the change in appearance has to do with humans at all. I wonder if these characteristics relay signals of friendliness and submissions versus the aggression shown in wild foxes?
Posted by Noelle Kellicker
Maybe someday we will live in a world where foxes will become the an ordinary household pet! I personally would love to own one and see how their behaviors different from those of my dog or cats. I do wonder however, how these domesticated foxes would interact with other domesticated animals such as a dog or cat. If they can show this affection towards humans, could they also be offered to show affect and potential befriend dogs?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder if these alterations in appears have any benefits in a more domesticated environment. Aside from being even more adorable, would any of these changes be more beneficial in their new surroundings?
Posted by Sara Corey
Ive never met anyone with a pet fox, but now I feel like there is a good chance one day I will. I never knew that there were certain genes that were associated with domesticated animals. Are the domestic genes in foxes similar to that of domestic genes in dogs? Also I find it interesting that friendlier foxes have different physical traits such as floppier ears. Perhaps if the gene associated with domestication/ making animals seek human companionship is found, we could make any animal a friendly pet.
ReplyDeletePosted by Nick Gast
I think I saw a documentary on this and it was very interesting to see the difference of the animals behavior in the cages. The aggressive ones would really bang against the cage grates. The fact that behavioral nature alters appearance makes sense. In horses you can definitely tell which ones are more aggressive or more kind. I never really knew why though.
ReplyDeletePosted by Caroline Adams
This article is really interesting. It's amazing that the features on a wolfs face show if the dog is friendly or not towards humans. I feel like the same is true for dogs, some dogs you can just tell by their facial features if they are going to be friendly or not. I wonder the genes of the domestic dogs and domestic wolves compare.
ReplyDeletePosted by Ryan Brooks
I would definitely love to have a fox, it would put a whole new spin on having a pet. I find it very fascinating that the foxes not only had different personalities but also had different physical features. Do you think wolves and dogs also had something similar happen somewhere on their evolutionary path? I guess when foxes are in the care of people there is no need for perky ears to have sharp hearing or coloring to help them blend with their environment.
ReplyDeletePosted by Caitlin Descovich O'Hare