Taming the Wild
Evan Ratfliff journeyed to Siberia last year for the National Geographic. He inspected the only facility in the world devoted to raising tame foxes. The work has been going on for over 50 years. In the old Soviet days, pioneers of the program were fired and imprisoned. The program only continued because key remaining researchers lied to Nikita Khrushchev about it when he came to visit the facility.
The article is provocative. It explains how, in fifteen generations, foxes can rapidly change themselves into domestic animals. These alterations appear to be the result of genetics, not at all because of nurture. There are very few animals that are suitable for domestication, about 14, and it is not obvious why a horse can become a domestic animal but a zebra fails to become domesticated even after multiple generations. The limits on domestication appear to be genetic.
What the researchers say about nature, nurture, genetics, use of scientific controls and persistence is remarkable. The implications of this work in shedding light on the ascent of man are daunting and profoundly thought provoking.
The article, “Taming the Wild,” should be read from the March, 2011 National Geographic beginning on page 34, because the photographs by Vincent J. Musi and the graphical depictions are integral to the reporting. However a link to the text and some of the photographs is available at:
No comments:
Post a Comment