#domestication

#domestication

In the English language, the turkey gets kind of a tough break. Talking turkey requires serious honesty and speaking harsh truths. Going cold turkey is, often, an onerous way of quitting something completely and suddenly. Being a turkey is a rude zinger thrown at movie and theatrical flops, as well as unpleasant, failure-prone people. Yet, in the culinary world, the turkey looms large, particularly during November.

So it was with interest that I learned that urban raccoons in North America are showing signs of domestication. A study in Frontiers in Zoology suggests that the animals are evolving to be as the mainstream media puts it cuter and more pet-like. Jump ahead three thought bubbles and I'm picturing me, holding paws with my new pet, skipping through the daisies to the tune of Daydream Believer. But could this really be?

Over many generations - through deliberate selection, crossing and interbreeding - humans 'created' the domesticated creatures we have and use today.