Community | February 27, 2011 | 16 comments

Man's First Best Friend Might Have Been A Fox

source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/19/133898499/mans-first-best-friend-might-have-been-a-fox&sc=nl&c...

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Vierotchka

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/19/133898499/mans-first-best-friend-might-...

In a dusty, ancient burial site in northern Jordan, archaeologists have made a startling discovery: a fox buried alongside human remains.

It seems some 16,000 years ago, several millennia before any animals were domesticated, humans may have been making an early attempt to keep pets. Red foxes, to be precise.

(click on the link for the full story)
  1. groups:
    Community,   Learn,   Indigenous
  2. tags:
    Society,  Dogs,  Anthropology,  Jordan,  3 more
  3. recommended by:
    Vierotchka
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16 comments // Man's First Best Friend Might Have Been A Fox

  • CarlosIsDown
  • Nephwrack
  • randallr01
  • Camille_Jackson
  • trut
  • royulery
  • FLeggplant
    • +2
      FLeggplant  

    • All animals, even wild ones have their own distinct personalities.
      I raise wild orphaned animals and released them when they are old enough to care for themselves.
      Some are fierce even when they are very young. Others are mellow and only a little work, kindness and food of course can lead them to become more domesticated than their siblings when they are young.
      As they age some become more wild but, others remain mellow.
      Sometimes it's a hard choice as to whether they are fit to be released into the wild when they are so sweet and harmless. Unless they are disabled in some way I release them all.
      I have never raised a Fox, but, Squirrels, Raccoons, Opossums and Birds will sometimes continue to hang around my house or leave for a few days and return after release for weeks or even months before they finally find their own way and become wild enough to leave the comfort of human hands.
      I do not see any reason why a Fox with a mellow personality would be any different.
      However, Any non-domesticated animal can turn fierce when they come to maturity. Even the disabled animals can turn on humans in the blink of an eye when instincts kick in.
      I'm not an expert, just a volunteer with some experience.
      Oh and BTW...

      Fox 'news' LIES!!!
      They are Never your friends.

    • 2 years ago
  • Roldan
    • +3
      Roldan  

    • All I know is our very own FOX ("news") is not the truth's best friend!

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      [current background noise: Neon Knight, from Sabbath's Heaven & Hell]

    • 2 years ago
  • ZiggyStrange
    • +5
      ZiggyStrange  

    • Good article.

      I read it. I have always disagreed with conventional wisdom regarding man's interaction with canines, and other species. I raised 2 Timber Wolves, and it was an education for me. I thought they were dogs, or mixed when I bought them, it turned out they were Wolves.

      I love dogs, and have a 6 year old Pit Bull. She understands a lot more than what she is supposed to according to studies. My observations are anecdotal but as a trained Scientist I know better than to ignore such data.

      I have never interacted with a Fox but I suspect they are just as likely to be domesticated as a Wolf. Wolves are not dogs, but they can coexist with humans in a somewhat domestic settings.

      +^d

    • 2 years ago
  • Vierotchka
  • Ryan_Todd
  • Ryan_Todd
    • +2
      Ryan_Todd  
    • ZiggyStrange:

      Go pick up the latest national geographic. There you will find an article explaining the very facts you have stated. Foxes have been and are being bred right now for pets. Their temperments and intelligence levels mimic that of a dog.

    • 2 years ago
  • ZiggyStrange
  • Vierotchka
    • -1
      Vierotchka  
    • Ryan_Todd:

      Just a few days ago I watched a scientific documentary about the man-made diversifying of dog breeds, and the particularity of a certain gene in dogs which influences the rapid changes in shape and sizes of dogs. They did mention the Chihuahua too, and stated that the genome of all dogs proves that they all descend from wolves, including the Chihuahua. I don't know of any small foxes native to the American continents. The fennec is the only really small fox I know of, it is native to the Sahara desert in Africa.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ryan_Todd
    • 0
      Ryan_Todd  
    • Vierotchka:

      What documentary? Ive seen and read pieces explaining that the chihuahua carries certain genes which are not found in wolves or other dogs(but,of course it's true, they also share genes). The chihuahua didnt come to be until the sapinards colonized south america and bred their small dogs with dogs native to the continent. The spainards would be far more likely to have a dog of fox origins than the aztecs would of course. So, it isnt that much of a stretch. But, obviously there seems to be a division in the scientific communty about this.

    • 2 years ago
  • Ryan_Todd
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