Over many thousands of years, a species of animal that originally shared a close relationship with wolves slowly morphed into dogs that love to curl up in your lap, get belly rubs, and eat kibble three times a day. These changes in dogs weren't just behavioral. In fact, the changes in body plan – like shorter snouts, floppy ears, more expressive faces, less body hair, and prolonged infancy – are common to many domesticated animals and even cute humans.
Similar features exist within many populations of animals, prompting the question of: if, who, or what kind of environmental changes might have domesticated them. The proposed answer sounds surprising: Animals may domesticate themselves.
Domestication is the process of somehow selecting representatives from each generation of animal (or plant) that suits the best for living with each other. Number one on that list must be to 'play nice'. An effect of survival could have been high on the list.
Domestication syndrome describes the collection of characteristics that go with calm, nice, and content. Perhaps humans have domesticated themselves as well. We could pick which dogs, sheep, pigs, and cows would have domesticated babies based on their temperament and attraction. Perhaps we have a preference for less-aggressive, more pro-social partners. Think about your feelings when you see a cute baby.
Consequently, there was increased pressure on our ability to communicate, facilitating complex language skills. Changes in how our brains function may have had an impact on our skull's size and shape, not all that dissimilar to how skulls have changed in domesticated animals.
Now African and Asian elephants are being nominated as two new examples of self-domestication, having arguably undergone such a selection process. Arguably, elephant babies are cute.
Behaviorally, there's a propensity for peaceful interactions, with examples of aggression tending to be proactive rather than reactive. Infants in all species tend to engage in social and non-social play that often facilitates socializing and bonding.
The researchers argue that "domesticated species do not usually show the full suite of features associated with domestication", as different blocks of traits can fragment and no longer undergo selection. Meaning elephants are less likely to lose the already evolved structure in their ears, given how useful they are for temperature regulation.
To what degree the different species of elephants might or might not have taken the evolutionary road to pro-social, domestic 'bliss' depends mainly on whether the hypothesis itself makes for a good theory capable of explaining why certain social characteristics might be commonly found in diverse species.
If it does, we might find other animals on a continuum of domestication. Dolphins, perhaps, or various species of birds or rodents might have also undergone similar changes that favor degrees of social complexity over brawn and fury. Also, inter-species interactions have been observed, such as a dog cuddling up with a kitten or a mother hen raising a swan cygnet.
Once seen as an exclusive virtue of humanity, the tendency to prioritize peaceful guidance, complex emotional expression, and a general love for one another probably is an option open to many tamer animals, including ones becoming more social. As with many traits that once defined our species, humans may take domestication to the next level. Let’s do that.
04/28/24