3/11/2005: Domesticated foxes

In 1959 a Russian scientist set out to create what you're seeing today - and the results may help understand how human intelligence operates.

These ARE foxes - bred specifically for certain traits.

Both Belyaeve and Trut selected foxes for one criterion only – tameness, which was evaluated by the foxes' reactions to their human keepers. If they were vicious, they didn't join the experimental population. If they showed slight fear and friendliness, they did. To ensure that their tameness resulted from genetic selections, the scientists didn't train the foxes and their contact with humans was limited to brief, behavioural tests.

Now, 40 years and 45,000 foxes later, Trut has a unique population of 100 foxes that are docile and eager to please. They snarl fiercely at each other for the attention of their human handler. Each of them is a product of between 30 and 35 generations of selection.



The specially domesticated foxes are not only socially adept, adds Hare, they are regular charmers. "They behave like dogs," he says. "They whine and bark, they wag their tails, they pee for joy, and they just want to cuddle with you."

But don't expect fox kits to be appearing in pet stores any time soon. The foxes have a pungent musk and love to dig and hide food, says Hare. "They would bury your food in your sofa and you would only find it three months later."

The interesting side-effect, the one they didn't count on, was that the domesticated foxes became smarter and more able to "read" humans. Dogs are thought to be smarter than wild wolves because they can interpret human signals such as pointing. But the domesticated foxes are becoming "smart" too:

Researchers put puppies and fox kits through a series of experiments where the animals had to find hidden food, with a human researcher's gestures as the only clue to its location.

Both the puppies and the foxes bred for tameness found the food with about the same level of success. Both did significantly better than foxes bred at the same facility that hadn't been selected for tameness.

The results surprised Brian Hare, the study's lead author, who conducted the research while a Harvard doctoral student.

"I did not think the experimentally domesticated foxes would perform as well as dogs," Hare said. "In fact, I thought that in their failure, it would prove that dogs possessed their unusual ability to use social cues not because they are domesticated, but because this ability was under direct selection. ... Smarter dogs survived better [with humans] and passed on their 'smart genes' to the next generation."

The notion is that we didn't get smart because of 100% natural selection; we became smart because we found a distinct advantage to becoming SOCIAL.

This is a nasty finding for hermits like me!

A-dorable!! and an interesting story, too...

I want one.

Well, Ted Kaczinsky was smart...but he sure wasn't social!

Cute little foxies!

Ted Kaczinsky, Ted Kaczinsky... was his middle initial "W"? and does he regularly post in The Cellar?

Ah, poor foxes. I'm torn on this one: while I would love to have one, they're something I would prefer to see in the wild. It doesn't seem right to prevent something that beautiful and intelligent from running free.

But, as my nickname suggests, I can't resist them. Sigh.

Where are you from, I've seen a bunch. Saw one a couple of months ago (in a pumpkin patch) with both of my kids with me.

Have you ever actually seen a fox in the wild?

The really depressing part is that I haven't. I've certainly heard them, before, but I've yet to actually see one. Elusive little fuzzballs.

As for survival in the wild, I suspect they would probably do just as well as any domesticated dog or cat does when released, if not a bit better. I'd prefer that foxes maintained their fear of humans because, well, they're extremely cool for the intelligence they hold in evading people, sneaking about, and generally being, well, foxy.

Suggesting that no longer fearing humans has increased their social intelligence goes against what I see to be a fox's true smarts. They're social animals in the wild with each other already -- befriending people would be more harmful to them than good should the trait ever escape beyond the confines of the lab and actually survive.

What surprises me is how little time this took. Not that I have any expertise in this area, but I would have expected something more along the lines of an evolutionary timeline.

They don't say how many generations of selection they went through. But over 40 years it'd be ~20 or 30.

So how long before the marines breed an army of ape soldiers?

With all that said, I want one too but I think I would rather have a red one.

They should have plenty of reds. The ones shown, silver foxes, are just a color/pattern variant of a red. I bet they would look kind of strange with the new, white markings, though.

Respectfully, Kitsune, I think you're missing the point here. For all of UT's declaration that these ARE foxes I think that they truly are not. This is a new thing, just as dogs are not wolves. Wolves still exist, and are still in the wild. Dogs are just not part of that niche any more. So I think it will go with these foxes. They may continue to be called foxes, but they are really Vulpes domesticus now.

FWIW, I love wild foxes too, and have seen a small handful. Best was when I lived in Dublin, CA in a secluded townhouse complex surrounded by lots of trees, and with very few lights around the residences. Went out for a walk one night with my girlfriend and her daughter. We sat on a wall and watched deer come out of the woods and eat, and then walked around until we saw..just for a second..a fox climbing along a wall near the townhouses.

Scared the crap out of the girls. :-)

Generation XXXV

The article it said that there had been 30-35 generations of foxes.

And 45,000 foxes. I'm afraid to think about what happened to all of them.

Also, how big was the population that they started with.

Wasn't Stalin really down on evolution?

i spend quite a bit of time of late (when I can get it) exploring the derelict rail infrastructure around this area, I've got used to getting glimpses of foxes darting off. The only encounter that got me was when I put my head round the door of a storage shed and a fox stared back at me for a good 10 seconds before heading off, there was just that moment where I thought 'this is a fairly desperate wild animal with sharp teeth and I'm a big lump of unarmed flesh'.

In my last house in Jupiter Farms FL I had a pair of foxes den under my deck. They raised 3 litters of kits and they were all semi friendly with me. The Mom used to sit a few feet away while the babies would run around me, ignoring me for all practical purposes...Dad was always more aloof. They always got more skitish when they grew up which was just fine for me as I wasn't trying to domesticate them. They did like homemade biscuits however

Here are some pictures of them.

FD

One more image ... cute little buggers .....

Which one is the fox?
I guess the one with the red hair.
I believe any species can be domesticated with years & years & generation after generation of breeding & environmental control.
The fox, if I had to guess, would be one of the most difficult to domesticate.
These guys ARE beautiful!
Folks are always fuckin with nature. I'm sure they are adorable pets. I still think maybe we should leave at least SOME species alone and let the planet turn as it always has.
I can imagine my great grandkids telling their kids...." yeah, these animals used to be one of the wildest, most free & independant creatures ever........."
I just hope they don't wind up on the storyline with the buffalo.
I wonder if the blue eyes are a sign of strength or weakness in the genetic code. Code may not be the right word, but you know what the hell I mean. I will research that. There's good odds a fellow-cellarite already knows. C'mon ...........I'm lazy.

Foxes in PA are on the decline because of rabies and being displaced by coyotes which are bigger, more agressive and seek the same habitat.

A few years ago I was following an abandon railroad track near my house and found a dead red fox. It was in the fall when their fur is primo and the carcass was in perfect condition. Since there was no clue as to the cause of death, I brought it home and called the Game Commision to see if they wanted to check it out. No.

I buried it but saved that gorgeous tail and hung it over one of my work benchs down cellar. A couple of weeks later I discovered the cats had used it for a punching (clawing) bag, stripping half the hair off. Damnit.

FloridaDragon, did you get to see any of those greys do their tree climbing trick?

OK, maybe it is too obvious, but someone has to type it:

I've seen wild foxes in the Catskills in NY State. They are lovely creatures, witha self-contained air about them.

Never saw them climb trees ... can they do that?

Yeah -- grey foxes will scoot up a tree, find a branch, and take a nap. They're the only fox that can climb like that.

I'd love to see the pictures you took!

Up here we have a pretty good population of gray and red foxes. Last summer I saw a bunch of red fox kits cavorting by my Dads pond. I think they are living in a den surrounded by multiflora rose and black berry briars. I'm not sure if the adults were picking off juvenile canadian geese for food but they seemed very well fed etc... Rabies is a big problem here as well.

I actually see them fairly often. Living in a moderatly rural town in SOuth Carolina helps. I live about 30 minutes out of Charleston. The sad part is I see quite a few more dead ones then live ones. But the live ones are breath taking. Many of the native species here have made minor come backs in the last decade or so. Though the area is growing rapidlty there is a push to make the neighborhoods more like parks since people want to live in that old Carolina feel. This has helped some.

Foxes are just one of the great animals we have seen lately. Bald eagles have been nesting nearby again. Various raptors of all types (out state has a breeding program for them) Hell my dog got chased by a great horned owl the other night. Of late I have also seen wild mink, and in the nearby Beidler forest that I occasionally drive through at night there are wolves again were there weren't any a few years ago. You think a fox is impressive, try staring down a wild wolf. Even in the car that is an awesome sight. BUt there are little furry critters that arent as cute but equally important to the ecosphere. Why heres one now!

Didn't your Momma tell you not to play with your food?

To add to nightsongs post and the domestication: We let the cats in when they claw at the door and we tried briefly feeding them outside. Well I tell him it is his turn and he lets the possum in along with the cats!!!! I look up at him and tell him you let a rat in...lol. We do not feed the cats outside because of that night.

By the way, did anyone notice the researcher's comment on the foxes peeing because they're happy to see you? Since when is that a good thing???

And I love the blue eye'd ones, they are so pretty....

And I love the blue eye'd ones, they are so pretty....

Those don't last long. All fox kits have blue eyes when they're born, but the color changes to a rich amber a short time later.

Peeing is pack behavior, a social signal that now extends to humans.

You're right UT, just look at the line to the ladies room.