Domestication of Animals

Animals accompanied people always. Domestication of animals is more than taming. The habitat of the domestic animals is restricted, protection assured, food supply maintained and their breeding is done under human management and control.

In general animals have been domesticated for the following three purposes: as a source of food, clothing, etc., as assistants used in various human activities, or as pets.

The origin of domestication dates from the ancient times. The dog is likely to be most widely distributed and variably used domesticated animal. It assists hunting, draws sledges in Northern regions of Russia and America, a hairless type is bred for producing food in Mexico and elsewhere, while the specialized purposes for which dogs have been used are too numerous to mention.

Cattle are the most important of the animals domesticated by man, and next to the dog the most ancient. Domesticated cattle belong to the family Bovine, which also includes the buffalo, the bison, yak, zebu and some others. Cattle were at first used and developed as draft animals and as suppliers of milk. Only later they have been raised to be eaten. The horse was perhaps domesticated in Central Asia, where Przhevalsky horse is still found wild today, and from there is spread rapidly all around the world.

In addition to the animals mentioned above there are some other animals that have been successfully domesticated by man. After sheep an d goats there are camels, fowls, bees and others.

Great physical changes have taken place in animals domesticated. Now they differ considerably in color, form, size etc. from their related wild forms. Great experience has been gained in improving stocks by the scientists, using selection, crossbreeding and inbreeding.

Some possibilities for domestication may still exist. Perhaps fur-bearing animals, such as mink and foxes are now being domesticated in the same slow way as cattle and sheep were many thousand years ago.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-16