DOMESTICATING WILD MAMMALS. 9 



Young mammals of various kinds when caught wild and reared in 

 captivity become absolutely tame and tractable. If these tame indi- 

 viduals can be bred successfully, there would seem to be few obstacles 

 in the way of domesticating the species. 



However, the problems of domestication are not quite so simple 

 as the above statement might imply. It must be remembered that 

 captivity and changes of environment often make wild animals 

 peculiarly susceptible to disease. These and other considerations 

 complicate the problems, whose solution, after all, will depend mainly 

 upon the patience of the experimenter. 



In considering the reasons for domesticating wild animals and 

 plants, the aesthetic one should not be overlooked. A large number 

 of the species that have come under human control have been tamed 

 for the pleasure they afford to their owners. This is true of flower- 

 ing and other ornamental plants, and of some birds — for instance, 

 the canary. Probably this consideration always has weight in the 

 selection of species and individuals for breeding, and it must have 

 a marked influence in deciding the fitness of wild species of mam- 

 mals for domestication. 



Experiments in breeding wild mammals need not necessarily be 

 with a view to complete domestication. The animals may be bred in 

 inclosures giving sufficient range and a habitat as nearly natural as 

 circumstances will permit, and the problems of ultimate domestica- 

 tion may be left for future determination. By this means the prac- 

 tical economic results of full domestication may be largely antici- 

 pated before the completion of the process, and the dangers incident 

 to close captivity may be happily avoided. 



The chief practical objects to be sought by breeding wild mammals 

 in captivity are: (1) Preservation of species, (2) use in agriculture 

 or transportation, (3) use for hides and fur, and (4) use for food. 



PRESERVATION" OF SPECIES. 



The rapacity of man has often threatened the existence of valuable 

 animals. The danger of extinction of the American buffalo, the 

 African elephant, the eland, the walrus, the sea otter, and other 

 species is not imaginary. Within recent times several species of 

 birds have been lost to the world. Of mammals the quagga and the 

 blaubok {Hippotragus leucophceus) , the latter a small relative of 

 the roan antelope, have been exterminated in South Africa. Fore- 

 sight might have preserved them, and foresight, aided by govern- 

 mental intervention, will be needed to prevent the loss of many 

 of the larger game animals of the world. Their preservation is in 

 itself a sufficient reason for attempting their partial or complete 

 domestication. 



63030°— Bull. 36—10—2 



