4 ms·
It seems obvious that selection for affinity to humans would occur naturally over time, with humans being a good food source (trash, if nothing else), and anima
by darkerside 3y ago
It seems obvious that selection for affinity to humans would occur naturally over time, with humans being a good food source (trash, if nothing else), and animals that were proximate to humans but non threatening becoming very successful over time.
- JackFr 3y agoDoes the Norwegian rat count as having been domesticated?
- thaumasiotes 3y agoYes, people keep them as pets, play with them, etc. There are also large wild populations.
- sethammons 3y agoNot all rats are good at being pets. If they were, the bushy tailed wood rat would be in every pet store
- thaumasiotes 3y agoI can't argue with that, but the question was about Norwegian rats. The bushy-tailed wood rat isn't even in the same taxonomic family. It's just called a rat.
- int_19h 3y agoThere are many animals who have such affinity with humans, but most of them have not been successfully domesticated, so it's not that simple. And it does seem rather obvious on its face that animals exhibiting certain kinds of social behavior, for example, would more readily adapt to a symbiotic relationship with humans than others.