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We share so much with our ape relatives and other animals but almost all animals do not keep pets - isnt that odd ?

The subject came up about animals in adverts and I thought about the way we humans love pets and have developed strong relationships with other animals not just for food but for protection entertainment and other benefits. And then I realised that even our closest relative bonobos do not do this. There is not even any evidence Neanderthals kept pets. Earliest evidence for a per appears to be 32000 years ago with tracks of a wolf walking alongside a child. Early records are from Europe and the Middle East. This made me immediately think of Romulus and Remus, but Romulus founded Rome in about 732BC (says chatgpt). Chatsgpt doesnt know an answer for the oldest folklore of humans and pets but the evidence is that dogs weren't buried with humans until about 14000BC. So 18000 years of casual association and 14000 years of true domestication ?? I think this is an interesting subject worthy of more research. Any opinions or contributions anyone ?

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awildsheepschase

In theory my cats keep me as their pet. I mean I took them in, but they certainly express in every way, how they need me to be. And just because in our laws, they are my property if ever came down to laws, what if I was presented before their courts? They'd probably say in court, since we are more loving and compassionate, we never considered you our property and we thank you for letting us take your home and letting us let you live there. Perspective matters, but that speaks a cat well

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awildsheepschase

@Captain But I have no desire to be defended up until the point of possible death.

Captain · 61-69, M

@awildsheepschase I dont want to get into that position either.

awildsheepschase

@Captain The cat may be more often pissy, and hissy... But I think they know their actions and defences. Even my gymnast cat, I think met a dog for the first time stuck in the hallway and it would take a dog owner thinking if I make a wall of cardboard boxes that's gonna stop my acting out gymnast? If my cat needed, I felt bad how I let him be in the hallway and I didn't see, if a dog confronted him he'd be dancing and making the dog not even able to respond. I found it silly they thought carboard boxes would stop my cat, and their poor dog

Captain · 61-69, M

Jack - because it has evolved uniquely in man, and we have taken it alongside farming and transformed the world with it and used it to grow our population distortedly high, but pets as companions seems to have changed our society and that of the animals radically. I wonder what fulfilled our emotional need before we had pets ?? Grandchildren maybe ?

Jackaloftheazuresand · 26-30, M

@Captain well the baboons do something very similar

Captain · 61-69, M

@Jackaloftheazuresand Thats interesting. I know bear, dog monkeys, apes and hominids are the most closes related - with those solitary cat things split off - and baboons do look a bit half dog half ape, but stealing and keeping dog pups and bringin gthem up as guard dogs - wich I’ve just been able to check out because of your post - is really interesting. I thjink it shows these behaviours are not instinctive but learned. Ties in with the fact that different humans are dog cat snake spider etc etc fans. Maybe we are the only animals that can afford to keep pets instead of eating them as soon as we catch one ??

ThePatientAnarchist · 61-69

I think that most animals cared for by humans were basically servants until quite recently in history. Dogs for hunting, cats to catch mice, etc. The current thing where people relate to pets basically as children is not more than a few generations old, I would think.

Captain · 61-69, M

@ThePatientAnarchist Its clearly evolved but what are humans doing with budgies and snakes and even large spiders for pets ??

dirge

there's a species of tarantula that effectively keep small frogs as pets in their burrows.

Captain · 61-69, M

@dirge Is that as pets or as a farmer keeps livestock for slaughter ?

dirge

@Captain closer to a pet. most similar to a rancher having w working dog around to protect family or livestock.

Captain · 61-69, M

@dirge Interesting. This is a bit like convergent evolution isnt it ? Now spiders don’t nurture their young so can’t learn to do this from another individual, which means that behaviour is genetically coded. That’s really interesting.

Jackaloftheazuresand · 26-30, M

No, why should it be? We have quite a different intellect to most animals and besides, pets are just symbiotic relationships with more intention

Captain · 61-69, M

@Jackaloftheazuresand Thats it isnt it - pets have no material benefit except emotionally - bonbobs just bonk anyone they meet. Maybe thats he change ? Maybe before pets we bonked like bonobos ?

DearAmbellina2113 · 41-45, F

We are alien hybrids. That's why we are different from anything else on this planet.

Captain · 61-69, M

@DearAmbellina2113 Erm - while i think Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, Nick Pope and co highlight interesting mysteries that need sorting out and I find “year 8000… eyes of your eyes…” very thought provoking indeed - and Al Beilek’s bizarre claims, and the book I read of someones interpretation of Nostradamus’s prediction in 1987 - where more than half have since been fulfilled - is worth looking at for idle speculation, no - 99% of our genetic code is matched to bonobo DNA, so we are not 1% alien, that one is I’m afraid utter b*ll*cks. There is clear evidence of humans of the distinct racial groups have cross bread with other homonids as they cam out of Africa and diverge into the racial types but not alien’2s - 25% of our DNA is no alien and givne all the RNA in out mitochondria and other organs, and our blood cells, and in our gut etc that interact with our own DNA - no the fine tuning is preserved, we do not carry around Alien DNA.

DearAmbellina2113 · 41-45, F

@Captain disagree

Captain · 61-69, M

@DearAmbellina2113 Your prerogative. In fact there is one circumstance under which I would buy it and that is “eyes of your eyes”. If Extra terrestrials were actually not extraterrestrial but us coming back from our future - then gene types would still be pretty similar. I don’t have any problem with both the future and past being plastic any more because of Wheeler’s single electron universe theory, and in fact ghosts and precognition become possible as well - so who knows this weeks winning lottery numbers ?

AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M

Monkey troops keep dogs as pets to warn them of danger

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Captain · 61-69, M

@AthrillatheHunt Aha, so not as pets, but as slaves. I didn't see any comment in the guys article about that, but it wouldn’t fit the definition o “pet” on two levels. 1. Its a “functional” need - and the dogs are clearly being kept under duress if they are treated badly. 2. Its not for company, its not a nurturing behaviour. You can have a look at his article if you like via the link.

AthrillatheHunt · 51-55, M

@Captain only we keep emotional support animals . Their purpose is to warm the monkey troop of danger , same as any farm or guard dog . Regardless of the breed of dog , it would qualify as “working class “

Captain · 61-69, M

@AthrillatheHunt I lov eit - LOL. Yes we have support workers who offer nothing but warm words and comfort and we call it work, but the academics don’t define it like that where pets are concerned. For me, it is this emotional support thing that seems to be unique as you say and in general words rooted form “pet” are about emotional support so… Anyway bottom line, we as a species seem to be relatively unique in this behaviour - maybe its our reasoning brain, one of the disadvantages being we are smart enough to have neuroses and psychoses. Doge do seem to hav emotional mood swings as well, maybe they caught it off us ? Interesting stuff though that’s for sure.

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