At 09:00 PM Monday 4/17/2006, PAT MATHEWS wrote:
From: Ronn!Blankenship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion <brin-l@mccmedia.com>
To: Killer Bs Discussion <brin-l@mccmedia.com>
Subject: Re: three paradigm shifts?
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 20:54:34 -0500
At 08:14 PM Monday 4/17/2006, Deborah Harrell wrote:
> "Robert J. Chassell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
<snip>
> In the relevant manner, how do domesticated animals
> differ from hunted
> animals? (I know they differ; the question is how?)
> Deborah Harrell, can you comment?
<snip>
Animals suitable to be domesticated must, in general,
have a native hierarchy, which humans can then utilize
to their own advantage. In herbivores, this means a
socially bonded herd as opposed to a 'gathering of
convenience;' in carnivores, a relatively stable pack
or strong family structure is required. Humans usurp
the alpha position of the herd leader(s) or
mother/father.
So how do you explain cats?
Meow Maru
We never domesticated them. They just took advantage of free food
and shelter, in true predator style.
Some of you may remember this New York Times Science Times article
from January. (Still available to registered members at
<<http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/06/science/06cats.htm>>.) Note the
last sentence in this excerpt:
DNA Offers New Insight Concerning Cat Evolution
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: January 6, 2006
Researchers have gained a major insight into the evolution of cats by
showing how they migrated to new continents and developed new species
as sea levels rose and fell.
[Photo of kitten exploring a clothes dryer]
Researchers have gained a major insight into the evolution of cats by
showing how they migrated to new continents and developed new species
as sea levels rose and fell.
About nine million years ago - two million years after the cat family
first appeared in Asia - these successful predators invaded North
America by crossing the Beringian land bridge connecting Siberia and
Alaska, a team of geneticists writes in the journal Science today.
Later, several American cat lineages returned to Asia. With each
migration, evolutionary forces morphed the pantherlike patriarch of
all cats into a rainbow of species, from ocelots and lynxes to
leopards, lions and the lineage that led to the most successful cat
of all, even though it has mostly forsaken its predatory heritage:
the cat that has induced people to pay for its board and lodging in
return for frugal displays of affection.
Or, why doesn't your cat obey you?
Pat, human servant to Dufus
Maybe _yours_ objects to being called "Dufus" . . .
--Ronn! :)
"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance... UNDER
GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that
would be eliminated from schools too?"
-- Red Skelton
(Someone asked me to change my .sig quote back, so I did.)
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