Is it true that house dogs, house cats, and cows are all "man-made" animals. That is to say that these three animals would not exist in nature if man hadn't breeded them down to their mcurrent state? You are not going out in the wilderness and see a cow or a poodle, correct?
2007-10-28 15:44:53 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
The animals that humans keep for companionship (pets) and for food, clothing and labor (livestock) are all descended from wild animals that man domesticated many, many years ago. These animals have been selectively bred for certain characteristics, so they have been changed from their wild ancestors. But man did not "make" these animals - only "enhance" them.
2007-10-29 04:38:45 · answer #1 · answered by margecutter 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
to some extent this is true..
house dogs are ALL decended from WOLVES.. house cats are decended from small wild cats and cows have been refined as well..
no these animals as we know them would NOT exist if people had not bred them .. many breeds of chickens, rabbits, and sheep are also "man made" to an extent...
you might see a poodle in the wilderness but that would only be if an owned dumped it there...
2007-10-29 00:03:34 · answer #2 · answered by MandB 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes. They are not 'man-made' in the sense that we created them in a lab or suchlike, but they are the result of selective breeding by humans, and would not exist if we had not domesticated their wild ancestors and bred them for certain characteristics.
Domestic dogs are descended from wolves, domestic cats from the African wildcat, and cattle are thought to be descended from aurochs, a now-extinct bovid.
2007-10-29 13:38:45 · answer #3 · answered by The Wise Wolf 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Cats really haven't changed much; especially in Asia and Africa there are house cat-sized wild cats.
Beef cattle look quite a bit like wild cattle, such as water buffalo, Cape buffalo, aurochs, etc.
The average "mutt" dog found feral in and near cities looks nearly like a wolf, but with a bit of the "domesticated" phenotype (genetic expression) such as shorter muzzle, broader based ears, multi-colors, etc.
2007-10-28 23:37:23 · answer #4 · answered by Howard H 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have to disagree. They were wild to begin with we just domesticated them. I think they would exist in the wild because they would learn to adapt. And where I'm from you will see a cow out in the wilderness along with horses dogs and cats all once domesticated, but now are all wild. We have dogs running with a pack of coyotes and its a lab.
2007-10-28 23:15:44 · answer #5 · answered by DevilDog'sKitty 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
We bred them to look and act the way they do now. They cannot function in the wild, we bred the brains right out of them. So some sort of form of them were once wild (all domestic dogs are 99% genetically similar to gray wolf), but we "made" them what they are today.
2007-10-30 04:22:17 · answer #6 · answered by Kimbo 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋