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If you grabbed a wild coyote, and started feeding it, how long would it take before the animal, if not fully tame, would at least not bite the hand that feeds it?
Wild animals are wild.
I once rescued an injured duckling from our cat and nursed it back to health.
I fed and watered it several times a day while it convalesced. Each time I reached my hand in the box that tiny adorable creature thrashed its wings and bit my fingers.
After about 3 days I had had enough of it biting the hand that feeds. It was barely larger than a marshmallow but it was kicking my ass.
I decided it must be strong enough so I returned it to its mother, who was conveniently still in the nearby pond. It launched itself toward her and literally ran across the water to be reunited.
That part was touching, so I guess it was worth the effort, but I learned a valuable lesson. Imagine if instead of a tiny bird it had been a dangerous predator with fangs and claws
I bet if you had tried for 4 day it would totally have worked.
An adult or a pup? That’s going to make a big difference. You’ll never be able to domesticate it in one or two generations, but depending on temperament and dedication you could probably have a coyote that allows you to live in proximity to it after a year if you spent all your time working with it. But never turn your back on it.
A pup would obviously be easier. But I still wouldn’t turn my back on it.
They worked on domesticating foxes in Russia for decades. Selective breeding for less aggression and fear. It’s funny, the domesticated ones start looking slightly more like dogs, with some even getting floppy ears and little curly tails. I assume it would be similar for coyotes.
Well said. In addition, think of the sheer number and severity of maulings we have from existing domesticated breeds. Now extrapolate to a wild and only habituated animal.
Curly tails and floppy ears are a generql sign of domestication. It’s a shame, really. The wild animals look so majestic, while their pet counterparts look very unserious.
Wild people looked very majestic (+ tails), while their domesticated counterparts look very unserious and unhealthy. ☝🏽🤓
Sorry)
It might even be inevitable. Even humans display “domestication syndrome” in comparison with our closest primate relatives, and bonobos also seem to have changed in analogous ways when they became more sociable.
Probably about 7 hands.
What the what? I was just looking at recent pics I took a second ago and came across one of a coyote I saw while on a walk recently. The universe, Amiright?
How high are you right now?
Adorable little cutie.
Hat man?
