The dog has been going nuts in the garden.
We have begun to suspect there really is something out there.
The dark is at the fence here in Britain. It paces back and forth unafraid, overstaying its welcome rather.
And with the dark come the nocturnal animals: the owls who hoot into the early morning; the badgers who shuffle around their sets. And, of course, the foxes.
At 7am out went Macaulay into the garden. At 7:01am the gatling ro-ro-ro-ro sounded and Phil went out to silence him before someone decided to give the council a ring.
He walked in on an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation.
The fox was not in the least cowed by Macaulay’s remonstrations. There was a garden fence between it and the little dog. It paced up and down growling: this was its territory. It lived here, just as we do: but while we occupy the space during daylight hours, he is its owner occupier at night.
He was cross. What are you doing, it was demanding of the garrulous little hound, on my land?
Even Phil’s form did not frighten him away. He made his ownership quite clear, walking up and down outside the fence, red, snarling and posturing.
On one side of the fence, wild; on the other, tame. Two sides of a mirror which is domestication.
Dogs, we concluded about a week ago, have been domesticated for a very long time. Proof exists for over ten thousand years: but one creature was found in a cave with a meal in his tummy which could only have been secured by collaboration some 31,700 years ago.
This week I learnt of an experiment which actually tried to make the prehistoric process living once more.
And what better and bleaker backdrop might one choose than the wastes of Siberia.
The Iron Curtain has had a lasting effect on information flow from that area which used to be known as the Soviet Union. We learn what men did: not necessarily who they were. We gain glimpses of their stature only through the fierce love and loyalty of those who were their students, their followers, their admirers.
Such a student is Lyudmila Trut, now head of the research group at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Siberian Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in Novosibirsk.
Her first job was spent working for an extraordinary scientist obsessed with genetics.
This was a taboo subject in Mother Russia. According to Trut’s interview with National Geographic, Josef Stalin’s time saw all research into genetics outlawed. It was seen as a ‘fake science’.
Dmitry Belyaev was Director of the Department of Fur Breeding, but he nursed an obsession with genetics on the side. His obsession lost him his job: his geneticist brother was exiled to a labour camp, where he died.
Dmitry could not keep away from the research.It was dogs which held his attention: dogs and their ancestors the wolves. How have so many different types of animals evolved from one line, all those thousands of years ago?
The nuts and bolts of the animal gene were impossible to investigate and replicate at the time, so Dmitry decided to reproduce prehistory itself.
It was in 1958 that Lyudmila Trut was hired to tour fox fur farms and pick out promising candidates for a whole new way of living.
When Kruschev visited the Institute of Cytology and Genetics to inspect it he was overheard saying of Belyaev to one of his aids: “What, are those geneticists still around? Were they not destroyed?”
Belyaev had only just begun. He would breed a population of tame foxes. He would watch what changed about them as they moved from feral to domestic. And these changes should give vital clues as to what was happening in the genes of any animal who became domesticated. Indeed: it would show what features evolution favoured.
30 male foxes; 100 vixens, all selected from fur farms, all chosen for their predisposition towards humans.
Four years and 45,000 foxes later, Belyaev has succeeded in achieving the very recreation of the process of natural selection. Eager to please, they wag their tails and roll over to have their tummy rubbed when they are approached.
In just over 30 generations, they have developed floppy ears, a shorter tail curled upwards like a dog, a mottling and a star-shaped marking.
There is a window, after animals have opened their eyes, and before they feel fear for the first time. In dogs the window is very wide: from 13 days to 10 weeks. In farmed foxes- only one step away from feral – it is from 15 days to 6 weeks. Tame foxes have a window very similar to that of dogs.
The foxes have changed irrevocably. Under the noses of their Siberian guardians they stepped over the line into domesticity.
Fortune, it seems, favours the friendly.
Kate Shrewsday 
I remember my first sight of a fox. It was in the distance – on a hillside, out in the country. It was dusk, and it’s beautiful colour was a marked contrast to the green of the hill. Now we have them in our back garden too (I mentioned one earlier this year). These urban foxes that aren’t afraid of humans are not the ones I want. I’d much rather they stayed on the hills………
I know what you mean, Nuvofelt, they’re quite bold: still, evolution seems to favour the bold. And they are such glorious creatures….
I don’t think environment can influence genetic instincts to the degree expected here. As domesticated and tame and trainable as pit bull dogs are, you never get the “pit bull” out of a pit bull, for example.
Have a look at the original journal report by Trut, Carl. It makes very enlightening reading. http://www.floridalupine.org/publications/PDF/trut-fox-study.pdf
I love foxes. I think they get a bad press. Of course, I don’t own any chickens.
Me neither. The fox infuriates the dog. And it leaves masts for us to remember it by. Yuk.
Fascinating! I can only wonder what our pets think when muzzle to muzzle with the untamed…do they view the other as kin and us suddenly no longer part of their pack? It is most interesting to watch that interaction…smelling the wind, pacing, watching the shadows ~
It is, Angela: the non verbal conversation can be quite breathtaking!
Although they are undoubtedly beautiful, I think my impression of foxes (“bad press” or not, Tilly) must stem from descriptions in childhood tales; i.e., wily, sneaky, and the like. Interesting to learn of the Siberian experiment, though I think it would take more time than “30 generations” to try to convince me to bring a fox in as a house pet. Think I’ll just stick with my sweet Minnie. 🙂
If this photo is of “your” fox, I shudder that he was so close to your door. He is looking seriously threatening and not one bit desirous of being domesticated!
That’s not our fox, Karen: or not our present one. We think it was the mother of a young family. She came to us in the snows last year, ravenous, thin and bedraggled. But now she has youngsters who are growing fast and, by the look of them, well fed and sleek!
You already know of my interest in foxes, Kate, and this post takes it over the top. How interesting the study is, not only in terms of the domesticating the fox, but, outwitting the hound, aka the old Soviet Union.
Then, there’s Macauley, defending his own territory with all of his might. I’ll bet this was something quite interesting to watch.
I wish I had been there, Penny: Phil says the fox was totally unabashed and the dog was furious. Day shift meets night shift. I love your comment about the old USSR: here is one fox it was never able to vanquish. Lovely 🙂 Thanks.
The only foxes I’ve seen were shy and striking. It is always a treat to come across something in the wild that tries to avoid us humans. (Not a treat to come across a bear. Or a bobcat.)
One cannot blame Macaulay for protecting his turf. I am glad they had a fence between them, though. 🙂
Me too! I don’t think Mac would have been quite as vociferous had we been on the same side of the fence. It was a strapping dog fox apparently…totally with you on the whole bear/bobcat thing…
So very interesting. I had heard of the experiment a while back, but not the update of it.
I love having wild animals visit the garden, though like you not the deposits! We had a hedgehog a while back , but I haven’t seen it since.
Oh, I am envious…I’d love a resident hedgehog….
We lived in California for 7 years before moving to lovely Charleston and we lived in one of the flat valleys of the Sacramento River and saw lots of wild foxes, occasional wolves in packs and all sorts of deer, bobcats and the sort. It was always a thrill to see them, but, glad that it was always from a little distance with the built in safety of a car nearby.
In Charleston, we see the occasional fox and wild boar along with bobcats, deer etc. and it is still great fun to see them. My wife, the lovely Miss TK, is what I call a hawk whisperer for her ability to spot them wherever they are and call my attention to them. We also have quite a lot of both Golden and Bald Eagles and they are absolutely beautiful in the wild.
The fox experiment in the old Soviet Union is very interesting and I suppose not too surprising given the controlled nature of it. I especially like the “shorter upturned tail” like a dog, I guess it just gives off a friendlier vibe and would thus lead to be more accepting to the human handler.
Now if we could just have a similar experiment done with all our politicians and actually make them friendlier to the public, we would be doing some real social good. 🙂
I envy you the eagles especially, Lou! We’re all hawk fans here, but in the home counties it’s just kites and buzzards mainly.
It is significant, isn’t it, that while socialisation and a predisposition to work with others has become a trait which nature champions, our man-made mores have all but edited them out. The ones who get to the top are so often the ruthless who will sacrifice others to get what they want.
Time to collect the politicians together, as you say: and engineer a bit of compassion and common sense 🙂
nice idea, Lou!
Fox visited occasionally in MD. Haven’t seen any here . . . yet. You might be interested in this book on Dogs, Kate:
Inside of a Dog – Alexandra Horowitz
For the dog lover on your list, this book explains how dogs perceive the world and discusses what it might be like to live inside a dog’s body. It’s a scientific book, but the language is easy for any reader to grasp.
For other book recommendations: http://maasmith7.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/five-books-that-would-make-great-christmas-gifts/
Oh, that sounds amazing, Nancy: thanks! I think I may have to ask Santa for that one!
I’ll bet Macaulay was beside himself over that taunting fox. So glad the fence was there to keep them both safe. I love the wild canines every bit as much as the domesticated and want no harm to befall either.
Indeed, PT, you are right. They usually give each other a wide berth, but this one was just so unafraid! We’ll keep a watching brief on that one….
I respect and appreciate the way you research topics and find such fascinating information.
More and more, Kate, I feel we are doing a greater good by letting nature evolve in its own way and time.
You’re probably right, Amy…
Jolly exciting findings, though. The dilemma of the scientists. I’m pretty sure I could: but should I?
‘but one creature was found in a cave with a meal in his tummy which could only have been secured by collaboration some 31,700 years ago.’ – how could we ever really know what happened – maybe the owners of the ‘meal’ had turned their back for 5 minutes and the creature could have snitched the meal 😉 Very interesting post – feel very sorry for the poor geneticists who were treated so terribly.
Gabrielle, after your hilarious post yesterday I feel sure you know dogs in general so well that your hypothesis has to be right 😀 The pre-dog must have ben in disgrace.And I feel sorry for the geneticists too..
Do they do fox-baiting there, Kate? I’ve only seen one fox in the wild here – fox-baiting is widespread.
I’ve never heard of this before, BB, so I’m not sure. We don’t usually see them much: I think it’s because they live here we are bound to meet them. Must check that out.
By fox bating, do you mean the deliberate poisoning of foxes?
I know in countries where they are not indigenous they are bated, for example in Tasmania and Australia as they upset the natural balance of the indigenous wildlife. I’m not sure where you are, bluebee, but would they apply to foxes in your area?
In the UK foxes were hunted for sport, but the rules have changed on this. This article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_hunting shows the story.
Good for Macaulay–good instincts to protect his territory, and he didn’t back down! Foxes are so beautiful. I know what they’re capable of, I guess, but I find them very intriguing, probably in part because they aren’t often seen in our landscape! But one did kill a family bunny many years ago. We could hear that very distinctive yip! Very interesting post, Kate. The Russian science outcomes are fascinating! Debra
They are beautiful, Debra. I am a fox fan, but a fox-in-the-wild fan. A hunter- not always safe- but totally glorious.
I recall, back in the early nineties, crossing the road in Weymouth, Dorset – then turning back to see where my father-in-law (who had been walking some distance behind me) was. He’d reached the kerb, and was waiting for a gap in traffic so that he could follow me. Directly beside him sat a fox. As Charlie moved off to cross the road, so did the animal. It looked for all the world that the fox belonged to Charlie, But having negotiated the traffic together, they went their separate ways once more. It was quite a sight. Clever buggers these foxes – and sometimes very trusting too.
Sounds like they already have a trust in the capability of man, doesn’t it, Tooty? I would have given anything to see what you saw. What amazing animals.
Wonderful post, Kate! Love it. And lots of links and suggestions to investigate too…
It’s particularly interesting to us dog lovers, isn’t it, Denise? How they took their first steps into our lives. Enjoy the links.