upworthy

horses

Science

Why do we domesticate some animals but not others? It's all about the four Fs.

Here's the real reason why you can't ride a zebra.

Photo credit: Canva

Horses were domesticated over 5,000 years ago. Zebras, never.

Humans have domesticated several kinds of animals over the millennia, from trusty horses and mules to livestock for milk and meat to our favorite furry companions. But why those specific animals and not others? What is it that led us to those particular choices? Why can we ride horses but not zebras? Why don't we purposefully breed "war bears" to fight for us?

That last question comes straight from the always-interesting and often-hilarious CGP Grey, whose YouTube videos explore all kinds of things we wonder about but don't necessarily take the time to research. In the video "Why Some Animals Can't Be Domesticated," Grey explains the four main elements that make an animal a good candidate for domestication, which excludes bears (and many others) from the list.

Grey alliterated the four elements to make them easier to remember: Friendly, Feedable, Fecund, and Family-Friendly. Let's dig into what those mean.


- YouTube www.youtube.com

Domestication requirement #1: Friendly

This one is fairly self-explanatory, but basically an animal has to not post an inherent, immediate threat. We have to be able to catch them if we're going to domesticate them, so that eliminates all of the "carnivores whose day job is murder" as Grey puts it, as well as the large, nervous prey animals that are too afraid of us to let us get anywhere near them.

wild animals, domesticated animals, gazelle Good luck trying to catch a gazelle.Photo credit: Canva

Domestication requirement #2: Feedable

Every animal is feedable, of course, but that doesn't mean it's easy or cheap to feed them, especially in large numbers. This category pretty much eliminates pure carnivores and some omnivores, leaving mostly herbivores (and some unpicky omnivores) that are easy and cheap to feed. And that aren't dangerous (see #1).


wild animals, domesticated animals, chickens, chicken feed Chickens will eat just about anything.Photo credit: Canva

Domestication requirement #3: Fecund

This requirement is all about breeding and babies. Some animals are extremely slow to breed, like pandas and elephants, making them undesirable candidates for domestication. Animals that have mate frequently and have relatively short gestation times and/or large litters are more suited to domesticated life. They also need to grow up quickly, which also takes elephants out of the pool.

However, as Grey points out, humans can still tame other animals like elephants. But taming is not the same as domesticating. The basic rule is: If it's on a farm, it's domesticated. If it's in a circus, it's tamed.

Domestication requirement #4: Family-friendly

This is where the horses and zebras question comes in. Horses were domesticated in Eurasia, but if humans started in Africa, why weren't zebras domesticated first? Grey explains that while horses tend to live in hierarchical herds, zebras are more independent with no family structure. Humans can capture the lead male horse and get the rest of the herd to fall in line. Zebra herds are more of a free-for-all and they're kind of jerks to even one another.

While it would seem that horses we see in the United States today are indigenous, the North American horse species went extinct around 10,000 years ago. They were reintroduced to America by 16th-century European colonialists who spread them throughout the country through Native American trade routes.

horses, zebras, domesticated animals, wild animals There's actually a big difference between horses and zebras besides just the stripes.Photo credit: Canva

Barnyard animals have inherent family structures that humans have figured out how to fit into. These animals learn to see the humans who own them as a lead cow, top chicken, or whatever.

Way back in the hunter-gatherer age, when humans were just figuring out animal domestication, animals had to have all four of these requirements. Today, we have the ability and technology to domesticate more animals if we want to, but we also have less of a need to. Some breeds of foxes have recently been domesticated, bred to be friendly with humans. How fun would it be to have a pet fox? Foxes are incredibly cute but wildly intelligent. So good luck keeping one in your backyard for very long.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Technically, a lot more animals could be domesticated if people really wanted to put in multiple human lifetimes of time and effort, but why?

You can follow CGP Grey on YouTube for more fun and informative videos.

This article originally appeared in April.

From Your Site Articles
animals
ScienceNature
Badge
Tory Burch
Tory Burch Empowered Women
Empowered Women

After Losing Her Friend To Cancer, This Woman Created a Horse Camp for Pediatric Patients and Their Families.

True

When Molly Reeser was a student at Michigan State University, she took a job mucking horse stalls to help pay for classes. While she was there, she met a 10-year-old girl named Casey, who was being treated for cancer, and — because both were animal lovers — they became fast friends.

Two years later, Casey died of cancer.

"Everyone at the barn wanted to do something to honor her memory," Molly remembers. A lot of suggestions were thrown out, but Molly knew that there was a bigger, more enduring way to do it.

"I saw firsthand how horses helped Casey and her family escape from the difficult and terrifying times they were enduring. I knew that there must be other families who could benefit from horses in the way she and her family had."

Molly approached the barn owners and asked if they would be open to letting her hold a one-day event. She wanted to bring pediatric cancer patients to the farm, where they could enjoy the horses and peaceful setting. They agreed, and with the help of her closest friends and the "emergency" credit card her parents had given her, Molly created her first Camp Casey. She worked with the local hospital where Casey had been a patient and invited 20 patients, their siblings and their parents.

The event was a huge success — and it was originally meant to be just that: a one-day thing. But, Molly says, "I believe Casey had other plans."

One week after the event, Molly received a letter from a five-year-old boy who had brain cancer. He had been at Camp Casey and said it was "the best day of his life."

"[After that], I knew that we had to pull it off again," Molly says. And they did. Every month for the next few years, they threw a Camp Casey. And when Molly graduated, she did the most terrifying thing she had ever done and told her parents that she would be waitressing for a year to see if it might be possible to turn Camp Casey into an actual nonprofit organization. That year of waitressing turned into six, but in the end she was able to pull it off: by 2010, Camp Casey became a non-profit with a paid staff.

"I am grateful for all the ways I've experienced good luck in my life and, therefore, I believe I have a responsibility to give back. It brings me tremendous joy to see people, animals, or things coming together to create goodness in a world that can often be filled with hardships."

Camp Casey serves 1500 children under the age of 18 each year in Michigan. "The organization looks different than when it started," Molly says. "We now operate four cost-free programs that bring accessible horseback riding and recreational services to children with cancer, sickle cell disease, and other life-threatening illnesses."

In addition to the day camp, they have also found ways to make horses accessible to immunocompromised, homebound patients through their Horsey House Call program. "[It] deploys 30 times a summer to knock on the doors of vulnerable children and surprise them with a horse for the afternoon," she explains. "Our all-volunteer team and therapy horse stays for about 3 hours to provide rides, grooming lessons, games, crafts, pizza, music, and more."

Other programs offered include Cowboy Camp Outs, an all-inclusive weekend getaway for families, and Lone Star Getaways, which provides a cost-free stay at a privately-owned rental property.

Camp Casey is also collaborating with other nonprofits to increase their impact in the community. They're currently partnering with the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association, which spreads awareness of the first all-Black cavalry in the United States. Together, they're deploying some of the Buffalo Soldiers' horses to Horsey House Calls and inviting families to the Buffalo Soldiers stables.

Molly is being named one of Tory Burch's Empowered Women of the year for her work with Camp Casey. The donation she receives as a nominee is being awarded to Camp Casey's programs run at the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association.

"The ultimate goal for Camp Casey is to be able to offer year-round programs," Molly says. "Michigan's harsh winters make it difficult to conduct our outdoor programs but, sadly, many of the children who need our services pass away before the weather permits us to serve them."

"We are actively working with the Buffalo Soldiers Heritage Association and the city of Detroit to eventually erect an indoor horseback riding arena that would allow for year-round programs for both nonprofit organizations."

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
empowered women
Empowered WomenSponsored Article - No Video PlayerSponsored
More

Willie Nelson saved the lives of 70 horses and gave them a place to roam on his farm.

Country music legend Willie Nelson has a 700 acre ranch in Texas called Luck, and the name is no misnomer, especially for the 70 horses who live there.

They get hand-fed twice a day and have a wide expanse of farm land to roam around on. But most importantly, almost all of them were rescued from slaughterhouses.

Nelson's horse rescue mission has been ongoing over the last several years, and is actually a large part of why he named his property Luck Ranch in the first place.  

"When you’re here, you're in Luck, and when you're not, you're out of Luck,"  Nelson told ABC KSAT 12.

[rebelmouse-image 19534854 dam="1" original_size="700x284" caption="Photo via KSAT/YouTube." expand=1]Photo via KSAT/YouTube.

Horses are much more than a staple of his farm life — they're featured in his music as well. Nelson recently wrote a song about his beautiful rescue horses called "Ride Me Back Home" which will appear on his album that drops this summer. The 87-year-old singer-songwriter spends roughly 200 day stretches on the road touring, so it makes sense he'd be longing for the more laid back life on the ranch with his beloved equines.

Rescuing horses isn't the only sort of on-the-ground philanthropy Nelson's dedicated to though. He also supports struggling American farmers via a nonprofit he co-founded called Farm Aid.

For over 30 years, Farm Aid has been dedicated to building "a system of agriculture that values family farmers, good food, soil and water, and strong communities," as the website states.

Farm Aid also holds annual food and music festivals where some of the biggest names in country music come together to raise money for farmers, and show appreciation for all that they do for this country.

[rebelmouse-image 19534855 dam="1" original_size="700x467" caption="Photo by Scott Streble/Farm Aid." expand=1]Photo by Scott Streble/Farm Aid.

Celebrities and public figures often give money to support causes they care about, but when they get out there and actually make giving back a part of their lives, it's particularly inspiring.

If you're interested in helping Nelson help promote family farmers and the good food movement, there are many ways to get involved. If offering aid to horses that need to be rescued and rehabilitated speaks to you more, Habitat for Horses is a great place to start.

You don't have to be famous or have a lot of money to make an impact. All that's needed is a little effort and drive to make the world a better, more humane, and healthier place to be.

Watch Nelson's whole interview with KSAT here:

From Your Site Articles
More
More

See gorgeous photos of the ranch this couple donated to help people with PTSD.

When one of his horses crashed into him without warning, Rick Wanless had no idea how badly he was hurt.

Wanless, who is in his late 70s, was working on his ranch in British Columbia four years ago when the collision happened. It didn't seem so bad at first, but the pain was intense. He had broken his pelvis and suffered severe internal injuries.

A team of paramedics rushed him to a local hospital. From there, he was transported by medevac to a trauma center in Vancouver.

Luckily, Wanless made a full recovery. And today he's riding horses again without fear, something he's loved doing his entire life. He credits those amazing first responders with making that possible.

Wanless and his wife, Donna, decided there had to be a way for them to give back.

Rick and Donna. All photos by Rick Wanless, used with permission

"I realized that they have a pretty demanding job and a great many of them have PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)," he said. "The need to help them seems to be overlooked when they're so busy helping us."

So he started reading. And as he read, he found dozens and dozens of articles praising the therapeutic value of farms and ranches. And it's true, studies have shown that exposure to nature can be great at easing the symptoms of PTSD, which include intense fear, anxiety, insomnia, and many others.

As he read, Wanless looked around the serene, 25-acre ranch he and his wife call home and came to a big realization.

It was the perfect place for healing.

Rick and Donna offered up their ranch to Honour House, an organization that provides free housing and support to Canadian veterans and people who have served who have PTSD.

When most people want to give back, they donate money. Rick and Donna decided instead to open up their home to people in need — to share their little slice of nature with people who desperately need to get away from the triggers and stresses of everyday life.

"I imagine a lot of people leave stuff in their wills, but they never know if it comes to fruition or not," he said. "This is actually something we can see happening."

The property will be called Honour Ranch, and small numbers of individuals suffering from PTSD will be able to visit and work with the horses...

...watch for deer, bears, and other wildlife...

...boat or kayak on the pond or nearby river...

...or just camp out and enjoy the tranquility.

Rick and Donna will continue to live on the ranch, but they won't have a great deal of interaction with their guests. And that's the point.

He said they have virtually no neighbors, making the property a perfect place to be alone in nature.

Of course, rest and recuperation is only one aspect of recovery. Honour House will bring in treatment professionals as needed to work with visitors to the ranch. The program is expected to kick off in Spring 2017.

In the meantime, Rick and Donna just hope their kindness will inspire others.

"We've had a wonderful life. We haven't had any hardships," he said. "If [others like us] can be inspired by what we're doing and want to help out in some way in their community, that would be wonderful."

More
Trending Stories