Artificial species of animals: examples

Mankind in the course of its development constantly tried to tame wild animals, forcing them to serve people in one way or another. So came the human companions - pets. But in the event that it is not possible to tame, modern scientists have come up with the idea of breeding artificial species of animals. This has been done and is being done for various reasons, but the results of such experiments are quite interesting and deserving of attention. Here are a few examples.

Artificial animal species

Hybrids of horse and donkey (mule), horse and donkey (hamster) are known for their many endurance and service to people. And here is your attention: half a zebra, half a pony. No man has yet managed to tame a zebra, and there have been many attempts. Then the scientists decided to withdraw the half-diamond. After crossing the zebra males with females of horse breeds (horses, ponies, donkeys), artificial species of animals were obtained. They received the names of zebraids: the male zebra and the horse - zors, the donkey and the female zebra - the zonk, the zebra plus the ponies. These hybrids have no zebra progeny, since they are sterile.

Mini camel (kama)

To get this breed, scientists crossed one-horned camel and llama. These animals, by the way, are distant relatives, but their ways diverged millions of years ago. Scientists used artificial insemination, and in 1998 the first camel-kama in Dubai, Rama, was born. Then a few more cubs saw the light. These artificial species of animals are hardy, like camels, but they have muzzles, like lamas, and are much smaller in size than hunchbacks.

Wolf Dog

Almost a century was needed by scientists to bring out the domesticated wolf. In 1925 the breeder Sarlos from Holland crossed the she-wolf and the male German shepherd. And after the rest of his life he devoted himself to the artificial selection of puppies, crossing them among themselves. The resulting animal in appearance is indistinguishable from the wolf, with a stubborn and very independent character. But the valuable difference of the wolf-dog Sarlos is that she recognizes people as the leaders of the pack. Therefore, their service qualities are irreplaceable.

Little fox-sister

In the 50's. The geneticist Dmitry Belyaev began domestication of a wild fox. Belyaev and his colleagues raised generations of domestic foxes by selecting the most obedient of each following litter. As a result, people were friendly to people, and their habits are very similar to canines.

This article can be used as an additional material on the topic: "The world around us, artificial animal species" (Grade 4).