Phew. This one took, uh… a bit longer than expected due to other projects both irl and art-wise, but it’s finally here. The long-awaited domestic animal infographic! Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough space to cover every single domestic animal (I’m so sorry, reindeer and koi, my beloveds) but I tried to include as many of the “major ones” as possible.
I made this chart in response to a lot of the misunderstandings I hear concerning domestic animals, so I hope it’s helpful!
Further information I didn’t have any room to add or expand on:
🐈 “Breed” and “species” are not synonyms! Breeds are specific to domesticated animals. A Bengal Tiger is a species of tiger. A Siamese is a breed of domestic cat.
🐀 Different colors are also not what makes a breed. A breed is determined by having genetics that are unique to that breed. So a “bluenose pitbull” is not a different breed from a “rednose pitbull”, but an American Pitbull Terrier is a different breed from an American Bully! Animals that have been domesticated for longer tend to have more seperate breeds as these differing genetics have had time to develop.
🐕 It takes hundreds of generations for an animal to become domesticated. While the “domesticated fox experiment” had interesting results, there were not enough generations involved for the foxes to become truly domesticated and their differences from wild foxes were more due to epigenetics (heritable traits that do not change the DNA sequence but rather activate or deactivate parts of it; owed to the specific circumstances of its parents’ behavior and environment.)
🐎 Wild animals that are raised in human care are not domesticated, but they can be considered “tamed.” This means that they still have all their wild instincts, but are less inclined to attack or be frightened of humans. A wild animal that lives in the wild but near human settlements and is less afraid of humans is considered “habituated.” Tamed and habituated animals are not any less dangerous than wild animals, and should still be treated with the same respect. Foxes, otters, raccoons, servals, caracals, bush babies, opossums, owls, monkeys, alligators, and other wild animals can be tamed or habituated, but they have not undergone hundreds of generations of domestication, so they are not domesticated animals.
🐄 Also, as seen above, these animals have all been domesticated for a reason, be it food, transport, pest control, or otherwise, at a time when less practical options existed. There is no benefit to domesticating other species in the modern day, so if you’ve got a hankering for keeping a wild animal as a pet, instead try to find the domestic equivalent of that wild animal! There are several dog breeds that look and behave like wolves or foxes, pigeons and chickens can make great pet birds and have hundreds of colorful fancy breeds, rats can be just as intelligent and social as a small monkey (and less expensive and dangerous to boot,) and ferrets are pretty darn close to minks and otters! There’s no need to keep a wolf in a house when our ancestors have already spent 20,000+ years to make them house-compatible.
🐖 This was stated in the infographic, but I feel like I must again reiterate that domestic animals do not belong in the wild, and often become invasive when feral. Their genetics have been specifically altered in such a way that they depend on humans for optimal health. We are their habitat. This is why you only really see feral pigeons in cities, and feral cats around settlements. They are specifically adapted to live with humans, so they stay even when unwanted. However, this does not mean they should live in a way that doesn’t put their health and comfort as a top priority! If we are their world, it is our duty to make it as good as possible. Please research any pet you get before bringing them home!
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More scientific evidence has surfaced to show that while Mittens may be your sweet angel, letting her roam outside is also a big threat to b
A study that just came out demonstrates that outdoor cats are known to prey on over two thousands species of wild animal, from mammals to birds to insects. That includes 347 species that are endangered, threatened or otherwise of concern, and they've been a key factor of the permanent extinction of over 60 species. And while cats may not always bring home what they catch, chances are if your cat is allowed to roam unsupervised outside, they're killing your local wildlife.
Why is this so important? Worldwide, wild animal populations have decreased in number by 69% in the past fifty years; that means that in my lifetime (born in 1978), the sheer number of wild animals in the world has been decreased by over half. Even "common" wild species are less numerous than before. While habitat population is the single biggest cause of species endangerment and extinction overall, outdoor and indoor/outdoor cats are a significant cause as well. In fact, they are the single biggest cause of human-caused mortality in wild birds.
Most importantly, it's very, very simple to fix this problem: keep your cats indoors, and spay and neuter them. If your cat is bored, they need more enrichment, and there are plenty of ways to make your home more exciting for them, from bringing home cardboard boxes for them to explore, to playing with them more often. If you want your cat to get some outdoor enrichment, leash train them (yes, it can be done!) If you have the space and resources, build them a catio where they can be safe from outdoor dangers like predators and cars, while also keeping local wildlife safe from them.
If you just give into their whining and pawing at the door, then they know that that's what they have to do to get their way; I know it's a tough transition, but it's worth it in the end for everyone involved. Cats are domesticated, which means they are not native anywhere in the world; there are exactly zero ecosystems in which they belong, save for the safety of your home. It is your responsibility to give them an enriching environment without taking the shortcut of letting them go wreak havoc outside.
Little world-building question: In a fantasy world where giant bugs and other such arthropods (like, the size of things like cows or wolves, not kaiju-sized like Humans-B-Gone's macrovolutes) are a thing, what do you think would be the best kinds for a civilization to try and domesticate, whether for resources or riding?
.....That is waaaaaayyyyyyy too broad a question, lmao. Insects alone are like 75% of *ALL ANIMALS,* period. If you bring in the other arthropods, that brings it up to more like *85%*.
Vertebrates, by contrast, comprise just 5% of all species on Earth. Half of that is fish.
If arthropods were giant, there would not *just* be suitable equivalents for the existing vertebrates we've domesticated (caterpillar leather; cockroach or jumping spider milk; ant hunters, guards, and mousers; wasp versions of homing pigeons and falcons; scarab and dragonfly flying mounts; ants are already excellent shepherds to aphids; and worker ants of many species already lay trophic eggs just for eating). There would be unimaginably vast potential for things we've never domesticated anything for!
Mountains of silk, honey, wax, paper, shellac, etc. etc. etc. are just the beginning. We've got nasute termite glue; we've got durable buildings and furniture constructed by bagworms and caddisfly larvae; we've got ants and termites farming fungi, or possibly trainable to do all of our farming for us; we've got bees for exploring and sniffing out any resources we can think of (we already can train them to detect drugs and cancer)!!! And forget plastic and metal for most uses when we have all this renewable chitin armor.
This is just the tip of iceberg. It would take me a series of novels to even scratch the surface, here!
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I wonder if Eridians ever domesticated their wildlife. Do Eridians even have endocrine systems like we do? Humans have a funky biological function of getting Good Chemicals when they come into contact with other animals, even if we prey on those animals, and we want to take them home and treat them like baby humans. For example, baby deer are fairly independent from their mothers because predators usually think mom=baby=easy lunch, but humans will see the baby deer and humanize it and think "Oh no! Abandoned baby deer! I must now take it with me." In evolution, this makes sense, because our babies come out half-baked and their brains are more vague connections of neurons than any hard-wiring.
So what would Eridians define as "cute"? Humans rely on vision (which is why our pupils dilate when they get Good Chemicals), so do they have cute noises? Cute vibrations? Would they be strong enough for them to pick up a wild animal and go "I'm raising you now" like how humans do to domesticate animals?
And I imagine that the Eridians would be totally confused with Grace's physical reactions to cute things like loafing or baby Eridians. He whole body and body language would, very audibly, shift towards the "cute" thing. It probably freaked them out a bit, since humans very noticeable shift their bodies to display attention. Grace just sees a baby Eridian for the first time and is fighting tears with how cute they are, and fighting a squeal, and the parents are like "This alien creature is looking at our baby, which is easy picking for a meal, with way too much intensity. Should we be worried?" Meanwhile Rocky is trying not to laugh his ass off as Grace tried (and fails) to fight off his brain chemistry going wild at a tiny pebble.
