They wag their tails, greet people with excited barks and look impossibly cute
: Meet mans newest best friend , the domesticated fox.
Scientists at a fur farm in Siberia revealed on Feb. 8 that they had spent 45
years breeding generations of tame foxes. The result is a population of
domesticated animals with big floppy ears, curly tails and rounder, more puppy-like
faces.
Unlike the all-black silver foxes from whch they are descended, they have
patches of white on their heads, legs and tails. After being bred across dozens of
generations, the foxes behave in much the same way as pet dogs, according to the
study in the journal current biology.
The friendly foxes, the scientists say, approach them, fearlessly and nonaggressively.
In a series of tests, the tame foxes appreared to be brighter than their wild
cousins. The research suggests that some aspects of social intelligence in animals
are linked to genetically selected tame behavior rather than deliberate breeding
from animals with social skills, the tame foxes were uicker to follow human cues of
pointing and eye gaze.
The scientists, led by Brian Hare at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary
Anthropology in Leipzig, wanted to investigate social problem-solving in animals.
Bab11
Rubah dijinakkan baru
David Adam, wali layanan berita / London
Rubah ini berbeda dengan rubah pada umumnya. Umumnya rubah berwarna
hitam. Namun pada rubah ini terdapat bercak warna putih pada kaki, kepala dan
ekor. Setelah dibesarkan di puluhan generasi, rubah berperilaku dalam banyak cara
yang sama seperti anjing peliharaan.
Ilmuwan di sebuah peternakan bulu di Siberia mengatakan bahwa mereka
menghabiskan waktu 45 tahun untuk pemuliaan generasi rubah jinak. Hasil dari
penelitian tersebut berupa rubah dengan floppy yang besar, ekornya keriting dan
bulat dan wajahnya seperti anjing. Rubah ramah, para ilmuwan mengatakan,
mendekati mereka, "tanpa rasa takut dan non-agresif".
Setelah melakukan beberapa tes, hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa
kecerdasan yang ditunjukkan oleh rubah tersebut berasal dari proses pembiakkan
yang dilakukan secara sengaja. Dan hasil dari pembiakan tersebut adalah rubah itu
bias mengikuti isyarat manusia dan tatapan mata.