"were domesticated from at least the Old Kingdom, providing both honey and wax. In ancient Rome, all the livestock known in ancient Egypt were available. In addition, rabbits were domesticated for food by the first century BC. To help flush them out from their underground burrows, the polecat was domesticated as the ferret, its use described by Pliny the Elder. In northern Europe, agriculture including animal husbandry went into decline when the Roman empire collapsed. Some aspects such as the herding of animals continued throughout the period. By the 11th century, the economy had recovered and the countryside was again"
"AD, when ferrets were released onto the Balearic Islands to control rabbit populations. As the European rabbit is native to the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa, the European polecat likely was first domesticated in these regions. The ferret and European polecat are similar in both size and portions, to the point that dark-coloured ferrets are almost indistinguishable from their wild cousins, though the ferret's skull has a smaller cranial volume, and has a narrower postorbital constriction. Compared to the European polecat, the ferret has a much smaller brain, though this comparison has not been made with Mediterranean polecats, from which"
"ferrets are large male domestic ferrets which are not native to the United States. The only native American ferret is the black-footed ferret, an endangered species which lives only around prairie dog towns on the plains, not in the mountains, where these scenes were staged. No doubt the cougar kittens and black bears were captive animals, borne out by the fact that two of them are showing health problems. One of the kittens has a head tilt, caused by a balance problem, and the bear's protruding tongue indicates teeth missing in that part of the mouth. Later in the film"
"reintroduction area, the tribal council passed a resolution in 2008, asking the two federal agencies to remove ferrets, and reimburse the tribe for its expenses for the ferret recovery program. Black-footed ferret The black-footed ferret (""Mustela nigripes""), also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations. First discovered by Audubon and Bachman in 1851, the species declined throughout the 20th century, primarily as a result of decreases in prairie dog populations and sylvatic"
"in the wild. Ferrets were likely first brought to Britain after the Norman Conquest of England, or as late as the fourteenth century. It is currently impossible to distinguish pure polecats from hybrids through DNA analysis, as the two forms are too closely related and intermixed to be separated through modern genetic methods. Crossbreeds between the two animals typically have a distinct white throat patch, white feet and white hairs interspersed among the fur. Typically, first generation crossbreeds between polecats and ferrets develop their wild parents' fear of humans if left with their mothers during the critical socialisation period between"
"Black-footed ferret The black-footed ferret (""Mustela nigripes""), also known as the American polecat or prairie dog hunter, is a species of mustelid native to central North America. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN, because of its very small and restricted populations. First discovered by Audubon and Bachman in 1851, the species declined throughout the 20th century, primarily as a result of decreases in prairie dog populations and sylvatic plague. It was declared extinct in 1979 until Lucille Hogg's dog brought a dead black-footed ferret to her door in Meeteetse, Wyoming in 1981. That remnant population of a few"
"more closely related to the domesticated cat than the Lion and can be found all over South America, Mexico, the western half of the US including Florida, and southwestern Canada. Three mammal species in the United States are referred to as ""wild cats"" (ocelot, the Canadian lynx, and the bobcat). However, they do not belong to ""Felis"", the genus of the wildcat proper and the domestic cat. The ocelot is in the genus ""Leopardus"" while the lynx and bobcat are in the genus ""Lynx"". A smaller cat, Jaguarundi (""Herpailurus yagouaroundi""), from Central and South America occurs near the lower Rio"
"was no description of the marlot, but the parent species both have rosetted or marbled patterns on a sandy background. There were attempts to breed the margay with the oncilla (""Leopardus tigrinus"") by Dutch breeder Mme Falken-Rohrle in the 1950s. These appear to have been unsuccessful. The domestic cat, known variously as ""Felis catus"", ""F. silvestris catus"", or ""F. lybica catus"", a descendant of the African wildcat (""F. lybica""), has been hybridized with several wild felid species. These wild-domestic hybrids have sometimes been called ""feral-domestic hybrids"", but this is a misnomer, because ""feral"" refers to a domesticated population species which"
"the complex. Marshall Farms Marshall Farms, based in North Rose, New York, is a commercial breeder of dogs and ferrets for pets and scientific research. Marshall Pet Products, a division of Marshall Farms founded in 1993, sells a wide range of food, toys, and other accessories for ferrets and rabbits. Founded in 1939 by Gilman Marshall, the company is currently the largest ferret breeder in the United States. Ferrets from Marshall are commonly seen in pet shops across the United States, Canada, and (increasingly) Japan; they are also used in biomedicine laboratories, particularly in the fields of viral and parasitic"
"meerkats, Kafue lechwe, and wallaby. Amur tiger, African lion, Jaguar, Carpathian lynx, grey wolves, Iberian wolves, European bear, Syrian bear, Asian short-clawed otters, Raccoon, Vervet monkeys, Common marmosets, Ring-tailed coati, Slender-tailed meerkats, tapir, capybara, Kafue lechwe, Grant's zebra, sugar gliders, lesser hedgehog tenrec, Parma wallabies, Bennett's wallabies, Reeves's muntjac, Fallow deer, domestic rabbits, raccoon dogs, reindeer, Azara's agouti, African pygmy goats and red fox. Ostrich, greater rhea, white-cheeked turaco, avocets, Indian runner ducks, Helmeted guinea fowl, white-naped crane, great horned owl, great grey owl, burrowing owl, European eagle owl, striated caracara, Himalayan Monal, and golden pheasant. Red-tailed boa constrictor, royal"
"species population of red fox, bald eagle, bighorn sheep, golden eagle, black bear, great horned owl, moose, burrowing owl, coyote, elk, swift fox, bobcat, pronghorn, mule deer, and cougar inhabit this refuge. Prairie dogs are abundant and are the primary food source for the black-footed ferret, which is listed as an endangered species. The Black-footed ferret has been reintroduced into the refuge after nearing extinction yet the sustainability of this relocated species is not yet known, and there are only 1,000 remaining in breeding compounds and perhaps 100 in the wild. Researchers in 2002 were only able to locate a"
"Cat The cat (""Felis catus"", or ""Felis silvestris catus"", literally ""woodland cat""), often referred to as the domestic cat to distinguish from other felids and felines, is a small and typically furry, carnivorous mammal. It is often called house cat when kept as indoor pet or feral/feral domestic cat when wild. It is often valued by humans for companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin. There are more than seventy cat breeds recognized by various cat registries. Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with a strong flexible body, quick reflexes, sharp teeth and retractable claws adapted"
"with its teeth and stores it, still living, in its burrow for future consumption. The European polecat originated in Western Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, with its closest living relatives being the steppe polecat, the black-footed ferret and the European mink. With the two former species, it can produce fertile offspring, though hybrids between it and the latter species tend to be sterile, and are distinguished from their parent species by their larger size and more valuable pelts. The European polecat is the sole ancestor of the ferret, which was domesticated more than 2000 years ago for the purpose of"
"difficult to tame, but is superior to its domesticated form, the ferret, in bolting rats from their holes due to its greater agility. It is prone to attempting escape once finished bolting rats, but can be easily outrun. Polecat kits can be successfully raised and suckled by mother cats. According to ""Owen's Welsh Dictionary"", the Gwythelians (early Irish settlers in northern Wales) kept polecats as pets. Attempts to tame the European polecat are generally hampered by the adult's nervous and unsociable disposition. First generation hybrids between polecats and ferrets, conceived to improve the latter's bloodlines, produce animals with personalities similar"
"Domesticated hedgehog The most common species of domesticated hedgehog is the white-bellied or four-toed hedgehog, also called African pygmy hedgehog (""Atelerix albiventris""). The Algerian hedgehog (""Atelerix algirus"") is a separate species of hedgehog. The domesticated hedgehog kept as a pet is typically the African pygmy hedgehog (""Atelerix albiventris""). Other species kept as pets include the Egyptian long-eared hedgehog (""Hemiechinus auritus auritus"") and the Indian long-eared hedgehog (""Hemiechinus collaris""). The Romans domesticated a relative of the Algerian hedgehog in the 4th century BC to use for meat and quills as well as pets. The Romans also used hedgehog skins to clean"
"in the area, that idea seems unlikely. Ferrets were probably used by the Romans for hunting. Colonies of feral ferrets have established themselves in areas where there is no competition from similarly sized predators, such as in the Shetland Islands and in remote regions in New Zealand. Where ferrets coexist with polecats, hybridization is common. It has been claimed that New Zealand has the world's largest feral population of ferret-polecat hybrids. In 1877, farmers in New Zealand demanded that ferrets be introduced into the country to control the rabbit population, which was also introduced by humans. Five ferrets were imported"
"no mammalian predators. For millennia, the main use of ferrets was for hunting, or ""ferreting"". With their long, lean build, and inquisitive nature, ferrets are very well equipped for getting down holes and chasing rodents, rabbits and moles out of their burrows. Caesar Augustus sent ferrets or mongooses (named ""viverrae"" by Plinius) to the Balearic Islands to control the rabbit plagues in 6 BC. In England, in 1390, a law was enacted restricting the use of ferrets for hunting to the relatively wealthy: In the United States, ferrets were relatively rare pets until the 1980s. A government study by the"
"""cuniculosa"", i.e. rabbit-ridden. The European rabbit is the only rabbit species that has been domesticated and all 305 global rabbit breeds—from Netherland Dwarf to Flemish Giant—are descendants of the European rabbit. Rabbits are an example of an animal that can be treated as a food, a pet, or a pest by different members of the same culture. In some urban areas, infestations of feral European rabbits (descended from pets) have become a problem. Helsinki, for example, host to one of the northernmost populations of the species, had an estimated 2,500 European rabbits at the end of 2006, doubling to 5,000"
"Marshall Farms Marshall Farms, based in North Rose, New York, is a commercial breeder of dogs and ferrets for pets and scientific research. Marshall Pet Products, a division of Marshall Farms founded in 1993, sells a wide range of food, toys, and other accessories for ferrets and rabbits. Founded in 1939 by Gilman Marshall, the company is currently the largest ferret breeder in the United States. Ferrets from Marshall are commonly seen in pet shops across the United States, Canada, and (increasingly) Japan; they are also used in biomedicine laboratories, particularly in the fields of viral and parasitic diseases, cardiovascular"
"dozen ferrets lasted there until the animals were considered extinct in the wild in 1987. However, a captive breeding program launched by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service resulted in its reintroduction into eight western states, Canada and Mexico from 1991 to 2009. There are now over 1,000 mature, wild-born individuals in the wild across 18 populations, with five self-sustaining populations in South Dakota (two), Arizona, Wyoming and Saskatchewan. It was first listed as 'Endangered' in 1982, then listed as 'Extinct in the Wild' in 1996 before being downgraded back to 'Endangered' in 2008. The black-footed ferret is roughly"
"Polecat Polecat is the common name for mammals in the order Carnivora and subfamily Mustelinae. Polecats do not form a single taxonomic rank; the name is applied to several species broadly similar to European polecats, the only species native to the British Isles. In the United States, the term ""polecat"" is sometimes applied to the black-footed ferret, a native member of the Mustelinae, and (loosely) to skunks, which are only distantly related. Despite the name, polecats, being various caniform mustelids, are more closely related to dogs than cats, which is why they belong to the suborder of Caniformiae. In Canada,"
"are common in Australia. However, in other circumstances where predator pressure is maintained, they may be accommodated into some balance in the local food web. Goat The domestic goat or simply goat (""Capra aegagrus hircus"") is a subspecies of ""C. aegagrus"" domesticated from the wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the goat—antelope subfamily Caprinae, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species of animal, and have been used for milk, meat,"
"in a semi-feral state in some parts of Southern England has also been claimed to be closer to the European wild horse as it carries pangare coloration and has a resemblance to the horses in Lascaux cave paintings. Although the wolf, the wild ancestor of domestic dogs, is not extinct, its phenotype is the target of several developmental breeds including the Northern Inuit Dog and the Tamaskan Dog. They are all crossbreeds of German Shepherds, Alaskan Malamutes and huskies, selected for phenotypic wolf characteristics. Therefore, these breeds are breeding-back attempts as well. Although extinct, Japanese wolf DNA survives in the"
"650 individuals, plus 250 in captivity. In 2008, the IUCN reclassified the species as ""globally endangered"", a substantial improvement since the 1996-assessment, when it was considered extinct in the wild, as the species was indeed only surviving in captivity. , about 1,200 ferrets are thought to live in the wild. Conservation efforts have been opposed by stock growers / ranchers, who have traditionally fought prairie dogs. In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service began poisoning prairie dogs in private land buffer zones of the Conata Basin of Buffalo Gap National Grassland, SD. Because 10–15 ranchers complained the measure was inadequate, the"
"Goat The domestic goat or simply goat (""Capra aegagrus hircus"") is a subspecies of ""C. aegagrus"" domesticated from the wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the goat—antelope subfamily Caprinae, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species of animal, and have been used for milk, meat, fur, and skins across much of the world. Milk from goats is often turned into goat cheese. Female goats are referred to as ""does"" or"
"Domestic rabbit A domestic (or domesticated) rabbit (""Oryctolagus""), more commonly known as a pet rabbit, a bunny, or a bunny rabbit is any of the domesticated varieties of the European rabbit species. They may be considered a pocket pet depending on their size. A male rabbit is a ""buck,"" a female is a ""doe,"" and a young rabbit is a ""kit"" or ""kitten"". Rabbits were first exploited by the Romans as sources of food and fur, and have been kept as pets in Western nations since the 19th century. Beginning in the 1980s, the idea of the domestic rabbit as"
"cat species to become a human commensal or domesticate in Neolithic China was the leopard cat, beginning at least 5000 years ago. However, these cats were ultimately replaced over time with cats descended from ""Felis silvestris lybica"" from the Middle East. The Asian leopard cat (""P. b. bengalensis"") has been mated with domestic cats since the 1960s to produce hybrid offspring known as the Bengal cat. This hybrid is usually permitted to be kept as a pet without a license. For the pet trade, a Bengal cat will typically be at least four generations (F4) removed from the leopard cat."
"Other than rats (""Rattus rattus""), all ""wild"" mammal species are feral descendants of domesticated species. During the plantation era, Diego Garcia was home to large herds of Sicilian donkeys (""Equus asinus""), dozens of horses (""Equus caballus""), hundreds of dogs (""Canis familiaris""), and house cats (""Felis catus""). In 1971, the BIOT Commissioner ordered the extermination of feral dogs following the departure of the last plantation workers, and the program continued through 1975, when the last feral dog was observed and shot. Donkeys, which numbered over 400 in 1972, were down to just 20 individuals in 2005. The last horse was observed"
"leopard cat was domesticated independently in China around 5500 BC, though this line of partially domesticated cats leaves no trace in the domesticated populations of today. A 2017 study confirmed that domestic cats are descendants of those first domesticated by farmers in the Near East around 9,000 years ago. As of a 2007 study, cats are the second-most popular pet in the U.S. by number of pets owned, after freshwater fish. In a 2010 study, they were ranked the third-most popular pet in the UK, after fish and dogs, with around 8 million being owned. The domestic cat is a"
"may be crossed to Savannah, Egyptian Mau, Serengeti, and Pixie Bob domestic breeds, and have also been crossbred with the wild caracal. The Euro-chaus is a man-made hybrid between the European wildcat (""Felis silvestris"") and the jungle cat species. It should not be confused with the Euro-chausie, which is a cross between the domestic Chausie breed and a European wildcat . The marlot is a hybrid between a male margay (""Leopardus wiedii"") and female ocelot (""L. pardalis""). In May 1977, the Long Island Ocelot Club (LIOC) announced the birth of a marlot bred by Barbara Brocks using captive-bred parents. There"
"in 1879, and in 1882–1883, 32 shipments of ferrets were made from London, totaling 1,217 animals. Only 678 landed, and 198 were sent from Melbourne, Australia. On the voyage, the ferrets were mated with the European polecat, creating a number of hybrids that were capable of surviving in the wild. In 1884 and 1886, close to 4,000 ferrets and ferret hybrids, 3,099 weasels and 137 stoats were turned loose. Concern was raised that these animals would eventually prey on indigenous wildlife once rabbit populations dropped, and this is exactly what happened to New Zealand's bird species which previously had had"
"pets at that time. Vervet monkey The vervet monkey (""Chlorocebus pygerythrus""), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term ""vervet"" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus ""Chlorocebus"". The five distinct subspecies can be found mostly throughout Southern Africa, as well as some of the eastern countries. Vervets were introduced to Florida, St. Kitts, Ascension Island, and Cape Verde. These mostly herbivorous monkeys have black faces and grey body hair color, ranging in body length from about for males to about for females. In addition to"
"Horse The horse (""Equus ferus caballus"") is one of two extant subspecies of ""Equus ferus"". It is an odd-toed ungulate mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature, ""Eohippus"", into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began domesticating horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Horses in the subspecies ""caballus"" are domesticated, although some domesticated populations live in the wild as feral horses. These feral populations are not true wild horses, as this term"