Post by Souriquois on Jan 29, 2018 0:26:13 GMT -4
I know this thread may be close to HBD, but I thought it's interesting.
Cats were one of the first domesticated animals, however, we didn’t domesticate them, they domesticated themselves, pretty much evolving on their own from their African wildcat ancestors to live among humans (a cat’s meow is at the same frequency as a human baby, a frequency which immediately triggers a “care response” in humans... they evolved to be able to manipulate us, pretty much) since it was easier to just follow humans and eat their scraps or suck up to humans to get fed than to hunt. Domesticated cats first appeared in the same part of Africa as humans and spread throughout the world by following them.
What's interesting about cats is that they have a similar pattern of continental variation as humans (what in humans, is mistaken for being different races), this is even despite selective breeding by humans.
African wildcat:
Domestic relative (Sokoke):
European wildcat:
Domestic relative (Norwegian forest cat):
North Asian wildcat:
Domestic relative (Persian):
South Asian wildcat:
Domestic relative (Singapura)
Chinese wildcat:
Domestic relative (Dragon Li)
All the wildcats are Felis silvestris silvestris and their domestic counterparts are Felis silvestris catus, like all humans are Homo sapiens sapiens, but there seems to be a regional variation in how they look. Could be because they followed humans, I am guessing.
I would say that the difference between Felis silvestris silvestris and Felis silvestris catus more constitutes what a "race" is than the continental differences between humans and cats do. Felis silvestris silvestris evolved to be a highly efficient hunter, having even a higher percentage of successful kills than big cats like lions and tigers, while Felis silvestris catus evolved traits specific to making them more able to interact with and get what they need to survive from humans, like their meow registering at a frequency that is impossible for humans to ignore or tune out (this is why a baby crying on an airplane is so annoying and a baby crying or a cat meowing at 3 am always wakes you up, sounds at this frequency are used for torture for this reason)... Felis silvestris silvestris and other meowing wildcats (cheetahs, lynxes, etc) have a lower pitched meow that humans can tune out.
Could this be because they migrated with humans? Following us?
Cats were one of the first domesticated animals, however, we didn’t domesticate them, they domesticated themselves, pretty much evolving on their own from their African wildcat ancestors to live among humans (a cat’s meow is at the same frequency as a human baby, a frequency which immediately triggers a “care response” in humans... they evolved to be able to manipulate us, pretty much) since it was easier to just follow humans and eat their scraps or suck up to humans to get fed than to hunt. Domesticated cats first appeared in the same part of Africa as humans and spread throughout the world by following them.
What's interesting about cats is that they have a similar pattern of continental variation as humans (what in humans, is mistaken for being different races), this is even despite selective breeding by humans.
African wildcat:
Domestic relative (Sokoke):
European wildcat:
Domestic relative (Norwegian forest cat):
North Asian wildcat:
Domestic relative (Persian):
South Asian wildcat:
Domestic relative (Singapura)
Chinese wildcat:
Domestic relative (Dragon Li)
All the wildcats are Felis silvestris silvestris and their domestic counterparts are Felis silvestris catus, like all humans are Homo sapiens sapiens, but there seems to be a regional variation in how they look. Could be because they followed humans, I am guessing.
I would say that the difference between Felis silvestris silvestris and Felis silvestris catus more constitutes what a "race" is than the continental differences between humans and cats do. Felis silvestris silvestris evolved to be a highly efficient hunter, having even a higher percentage of successful kills than big cats like lions and tigers, while Felis silvestris catus evolved traits specific to making them more able to interact with and get what they need to survive from humans, like their meow registering at a frequency that is impossible for humans to ignore or tune out (this is why a baby crying on an airplane is so annoying and a baby crying or a cat meowing at 3 am always wakes you up, sounds at this frequency are used for torture for this reason)... Felis silvestris silvestris and other meowing wildcats (cheetahs, lynxes, etc) have a lower pitched meow that humans can tune out.
Could this be because they migrated with humans? Following us?