Book of the Day: "How to Tame a Fox (and Turn into a Dog)" - an experiment to create the perfect pet

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The first book on how and why foxes were domesticated.

Exactly 60 years ago, in 1959, the outstanding Soviet geneticist Dmitry Belyaev and his student Lyudmila Trut began a bold and dangerous experiment that continues to this day. They decided to domesticate the wild and aggressive black-brown fox. “How to tame a fox (and turn into a dog). Siberian Evolutionary Experiment is the first book on this topic, written not for the scientific community, but for everyone who is interested in science, genetics, evolution and foxes.

Belyaev dreamed of writing a popular science book about his unique experiment, but, unfortunately, did not have time. The geneticist died in 1985. But his work is still alive. American biologist and writer Lee Dugatkin, together with Lyudmila Trut, nevertheless fulfilled Belyaev's wish and published a book. From Trut, a direct participant and witness of how Belyaev worked, the reader learns why to domesticate wild animals and whether it is real.

It all started with a bold idea. Scientists wanted to test whether it was possible to tame animals that had not previously made contact. After all, somehow the dog became man's best friend, why not try to make friends with the fox? Belyaev and Trut created conditions in which they could observe the genetic changes of these animals. Before them, such experiments were not performed, geneticists worked with insects and mice, but not with such complex creatures as foxes. Difficulties were also caused by the fact that they give offspring only once a year.

The fox was not trained or kept close to the person. The main condition of the experiment was to limit communication between the animal and scientists to a minimum. The foxes lived in open-air cages. Belyaev and Trut took the most friendly and trusting foxes from each litter. After several generations, Trut will take the most affectionate female, Pushinka, from the enclosure to the house where she lived and worked herself. There was no door between the fox's room and Trut's office. Pushinka calmly approached and communicated with Lyudmila, and when the first birth happened, she immediately carried the helpless cub to the office and gave Trut. The foxes had not shown such a degree of trust before.

It turned out to be evolution in accelerated time. After just a few generations, unsociable and hostile to any person who approached the cage, the foxes became affectionate and obedient. They wag their bushy tails, lick their faces and are incredibly loyal. And you can talk about their beauty for hours.

The book refrains from final conclusions, it is too early to talk about them. The genetic basis of change is only now beginning to be deciphered. And the very domestication of foxes in Siberia continues. Whether this story will have an end is not very clear. Belyaev himself hoped for continued research and suggested that their results and how they would affect the study of behavioral genetics could someday be applied to a better understanding of human evolution.

Perhaps studying foxes will help us better understand our own origins. For example, professor of evolutionary anthropology Brian Hare, based on this experiment, that human development could be influenced not so much by our intelligence as by sociality and the desire to be friends.