Animal Domestication: Taming the Wild - Photo Gallery - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine

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Taming the Wild

Only a handful of wild animal species have been successfully bred to get along with humans. The reason, scientists say, is found in their genes.

/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/01-miniature-vietnamese-potbelly-pig-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-01.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373853 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/02-dog-obidience-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-02.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Decision Time Dogs, but not chimpanzees, will follow a finger with their eyes to hidden food—testament to their close social bond with humans. In this experiment at Duke University, will Tasmania favor the pointing of a known caretaker over that of a stranger?]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373847 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/03-norweigan-red-cow-naps-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-03.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373865 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/04-same-age-chicken-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-04.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Gone to Extremes Two chickens, both eight weeks old but vastly different in weight, show off size-based breeding by geneticist Paul Siegel at Virginia Tech. "We're using artificial selection as a tool to look at natural selection. We just accelerate it."]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373852 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/05-domesticated-foxes-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-05.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Improbable Pets Foxes bred through generations to be as human-friendly as dogs get a boost from Lyudmila Trut (center) and other staff at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, in Novosibirsk, Siberia.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373846 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/06-wolf-dog-hybrid-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-06.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Short Hop Two wolves and a wolf-dog hybrid (foreground), traveling ambassadors for a sanctuary for captive-born wolves, illustrate the genetic stepping-off point for all dog breeds.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373851 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/07-lounging-with-pig-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-07.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/08-red-jungle-fowl-chicken-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-08.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Mother of All Hens Wild red jungle fowl, progenitors of the modern chicken, crowd a pen near Statesboro, Georgia. Remnants of a population collected in north-central India in the early 1960s, these birds may be the last of their kind—genetically speaking. As humans push farther into the wild bird's South Asian habitat, the chickens they bring with them interbreed with jungle fowl, polluting their genomes.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373866 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/09-awesome-angry-rats-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-09.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Bred to Be Bad This brown rat's angry display at the photographer reflects 73 generations of breeding for hostility to humans. Scientists at Novosibirsk and in Germany are comparing the aggressive rat genome to that of rats selected for friendliness, attempting to untangle connections between DNA and behavior.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373849 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/10-feral-cats-baltimore-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-10.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Go Ahead, Pet Me Feral cats roam the streets of Baltimore. Wildcats were the only animals believed to have domesticated themselves, attracted at first by rodent prey found around early agricultural settlements in the Middle East, beginning almost 10,000 years ago.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373855 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/11-milking-mare-kazakhstan-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-11.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Ancient Bond A woman milks a mare in the village of Kogershin in southern Kazakhstan. Recent archaeological studies have shown that the Botai people of the Eurasian steppes were the first to actively domesticate horses, 5,500 years ago.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373850 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/12-dorset-sheep-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-12.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/13-columbia-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-13.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Worthy Breeds A sampling of sheep at the Indiana State Fair reflects the diversity wrought by thousands of years of breeding. Pictured here: Columbia]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373859 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/14-natural-colored-sheep-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-14.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Worthy Breeds Natural colored]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373860 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/15-katahdin-hair-front-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-15.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Worthy Breeds Katahdin hair]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373857 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/16-north-country-cheviot-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-16.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Worthy Breeds North Country Cheviot]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373856 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/17-katahdin-hair-side-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-17.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Worthy Breeds Katahdin hair]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373858 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/18-domestic-goats-state-fair-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-18.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi Works in Progress Variation in goat breeds evident at the 2010 Indiana State Fair demonstrates that while goats were among the first domesticated animals, the process is ongoing. Each breed has qualities favored by particular farmers.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373863 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/19-ct-scanner-quality-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-19.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373854 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/20-piebald-coats-cow-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-20.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi No Hiding the Hide Piebald coats like the one on this Holstein cow are a signature trait of domesticated animals. An easy target for predators in the wild, piebald fur may have been selected for by humans to differentiate among livestock.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373861 /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/21-novosibirsk-fox-pet-714.jpg /2011/03/taming-wild-animals/img/taming-wild-60-21.jpg Photograph by Vincent J. Musi A Dog's Life Alisa, one of two Novosibirsk foxes living as pets in a wealthy home outside St. Petersburg, is friendly with her human companions and with the family's yellow Labrador too.]]> http://national-geographic.cafepress.com/art/s_1373848