Keeping wild animals as pets.

[draggar]

I'm not talking about people who have proper enclosures set up for the animals, zoos, etc.

I'm talking about people who let them into their homes, etc. Most of these people get these animals either as babies from the wild or bred from parents who were captured.

My wife and I were watching "Fatal Attraction" yesterday (a TV series about people who have wild animal pets and they turn on them - yesterday's was about Chimpanzees). (One of the chimps destroyed her friend's face (she survived - if you call that surviving) and she said "I would do it again if I could".

Most of these people seem to not realize that in the wild with family style animals, part of the process is that when the older members aren't doing the job or the younger members think they can do a better job (usually during or past adolescence) they'll challenge the older members - usually in a fight (to the death many times).

The main part of the domestication process is that we remove this instinct and it usually takes at least a few generations. This isn't something you can take out in a generation.

You also have to look at how quickly and easily the animal can adapt to a new lifestyle and environment. Coyotes, as an example, are great adapters. This is why we seen them everywhere in the USA (and I mean everywhere - we even have them in the Everglades and urban areas of south Florida). Most wild animals don't adapt well meaning it would be that much harder to get the "wild" out of them.

If these people want to get wild animals as pets they should volunteer at a zoo to see what the animals can do. They should also pay attention to ALL aspects of the animals, not just the cute baby stage and fun young stage - look at what they do as adults. Also learn about the precautions you'll need to take. Mane sure your enclosure at least meets (better yet to far exceed due to the lack of trained personnel on site) zoo standards.

I know I might sound like a hypocrite since I have vlcaks but at least during the "experimentation" stage they were intense breeding, in the 10 years there could have been as many as 5-7 generations gone though and that ended over 40 years ago. There was also a bottle neck back in the 1980's where most of the working line vlcaks were destroyed to "keep the secret" as communism was falling back out of Czechoslovakia.

[crashhelmet]

I know someone who has a pair of pet leopards. They have their own enclosure in the back yard, but are allowed to walk freely through the house.

I understand your argument about the increased risk of injury with these animals for pets, but that same risk can be found with domesticated dogs, rodents, and reptiles as well. A friend of mine in college had his lower lip bit off by his girlfriend's Scottish Terrier. Up until that time, that dog had been one of the most people friendly animals I had ever seen.

My ex-brother-in-law has a Chow that is the most sweetest and lovable dog you'll ever meet. Rub his belly and you have a friend for life. However, all it takes is a simple phrase to change it all. If he says "Spade! On the clock!," the dog will go out to the front porch and sit there at attention. Anything or anyone that is foolish to come into the yard will be destroyed. If you're in the house and he says "Spade! Watch him!" and points to you, don't move unless you want to be short fingers.

It all comes down to proper training.

CH

[Lace Neil Singer]

Chimpanzees, however, can never be trained fully to hold no risk whatsoever of hurting their owners. Especially since people who have them as pets very rarely see them as being wild animals; more like hairy people. Other primates are kept as pets, but chimps are more dangerous than, say, maque monkeys, cuz of their immense strength. They are far stronger than humans, and are never fully tame, no matter what their owners may think; there is always that risk that they may turn on them. Males are particularly aggressive.

http://www.allbusiness.com/science-t...1971361-1.html

Dogs and cats have been domesticated for thousands of years so the risk of horrendous injury from them is very small if the animals are trained correctly. However, all the training in the world can't take away the chance that your pet chimp Billy could one day take offence to your habit of patting his head and rip your hand off, before pelting you with faeces and ripping your eyes out of your skull.

[Greenday]

It all comes down to proper training.

Depending on the animal, no, no it doesn't. Dogs have been domesticated for so many years that yes, they can be trained.

Lions, tigers, wolves, all are animals that you can train, but you can never take the wild out of them in a generation.

[crashhelmet]

It's not a matter of "taking the wild out of them." It's a matter of training them properly before making a pet out of them. If you try to take one from the wild and make it a pet before it's had training, then you deserve what you get. The same would be said for taking in a stray cat or dog that's been on its own for far too long, or even born wild. Your own training on how to handle the animal is also very important.

CH

[Ginger Tea]

from a chriss rock? sketch

Then the Tiger went crazy.
No the Tiger went Tiger.

[LadyBarbossa]

Woman chooses crocodile over husband.

^ Insane stuff right there.

I think there are enough homeless cats, dogs, and 'normal' animals who would love a forever home without us resorting to wanting exotic things.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Also, chimps and other primates who are destined to become pets are taken from their mothers at a very early age. You can only imagine the trauma that they go thru. Also, while baby chimps may be cute and cuddly, adult chimps are not. An adult male chimp is ten times stronger than a human, and very capable of throwing massive tantrums which could see you heading into an early grave... in pieces.

Hell, even trained professionals who keep them have to put in place all kinds of security measures to ensure that their charges do not escape and wreak havoc. The fact is, a chimpanzee is a wild animal. No amount of putting them in clothes, feeding them cake or letting them sleep in your bed can change that fact.

[Mystic]

There is a plain and simple rule to animals we learned when I was working with the Zoological Society: If it has teeth, it can bite you.

Even trained dogs can bite someone. Animals are animals and do what animals do sometimes regardless of what training they may or may not have had. 90% of people who keep wild or exotic animals don't know what they are doing and a lot of times put themselves into positions where they can either hurt the animal or themselves.

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear a story about someone who took an exotic animal into their homes and expected it to act like a house cat or domestic dog and ends up attacking them or thrashing their homes. When you take an animal out of it's natural habitat and toss it in your house, you can't expect it to just adapt like a domesticated animal.

[draggar]

I understand your argument about the increased risk of injury with these animals for pets, but that same risk can be found with domesticated dogs, rodents, and reptiles as well. A friend of mine in college had his lower lip bit off by his girlfriend's Scottish Terrier. Up until that time, that dog had been one of the most people friendly animals I had ever seen.

Yes, dog maulings do happen but I'm sure per animal the incedence are far lower with dogs, cats, and other "common" pets as opposed to wild animals. Dog maulings are commonly the result of human errors, ignorance, and/or incompotence, too. Many people tend to get too much dog for their abilities (my wife can testify this - she is a dog trainer). Don't go out and get a Belgian shepherd or a working line German shepherd if you want a dog to be friends with everyone they meet- get a lab.

If you can't handle a strong dog then get a smaller breed.

If you can't handle a dog who can figure things out for themselves then don't get an intellgient breed (shepherds, herding dogs, some working dogs, etc.).

(and responders - I don't need 20 people telling me all the tiny exceptions to the rule, yes, they do exist but those are the exceptions, not the norm).

My ex-brother-in-law has a Chow that is the most sweetest and lovable dog you'll ever meet. Rub his belly and you have a friend for life. However, all it takes is a simple phrase to change it all. If he says "Spade! On the clock!," the dog will go out to the front porch and sit there at attention. Anything or anyone that is foolish to come into the yard will be destroyed. If you're in the house and he says "Spade! Watch him!" and points to you, don't move unless you want to be short fingers.

It all comes down to proper training.

CH

Our malinois is the same way. We give him one command he'll act like he's going to kill everyone in the room. We give him another command and within a few seconds he's on his back asking everyone to rub his belly.

I know someone who has a pair of pet leopards. They have their own enclosure in the back yard, but are allowed to walk freely through the house.

Depending on the animal, no, no it doesn't. Dogs have been domesticated for so many years that yes, they can be trained.

Lions, tigers, wolves, all are animals that you can train, but you can never take the wild out of them in a generation.

There are many other factors to consider, too.


Wolves, coyotes, and lions are pack animals. They're very family oriented. They're intelligent enough to be trained but you still need to be very concerned over the "taking over" mentality. While there are still serious risks to consider I would think these are the least risky “hunter” / large animals (let’s not get into animals like snails, prairie dogs, moles, and humming birds, OK? You should know what I mean).

Leopards are not very human aggressive - most of the time they'll avoid humans in the wild (unless they feel that they or their kin / babies are at threat).

Tigers, cougars, and panthers are aggressive and will actively hunt out humans.

Chimpanzees are (IMO) one of the highest risks. They are very intelligent and far stronger and faster than we are. I think they’re close to what we (humans) would be like if it wasn’t for things like morals. Chimps are one of the very few species (outside of humans) who will go out and kill others, including other chimps, for no apparent reason (no threat on resources, etc.).

You need to be able to consider all the risks, strength, speed (agility / dexterity), intelligence, instinct, etc.

Woman chooses crocodile over husband.

^ Insane stuff right there.

I think there are enough homeless cats, dogs, and 'normal' animals who would love a forever home without us resorting to wanting exotic things.

Crocodiles are nasty - I'm willing to bet she'll be dead in a few years unless she wises up.

There is a plain and simple rule to animals we learned when I was working with the Zoological Society: If it has teeth, it can will bite you.

Corrected to make it more accurate.

Even trained dogs can bite someone. Animals are animals and do what animals do sometimes regardless of what training they may or may not have had. 90% of people who keep wild or exotic animals don't know what they are doing and a lot of times put themselves into positions where they can either hurt the animal or themselves.

Whenever someone asks my wife if our dogs bite she responds "all dogs bite".

[BlaqueKatt]

I know I might sound like a hypocrite since I have vlcaks but at least during the "experimentation" stage they were intense breeding, in the 10 years there could have been as many as 5-7 generations gone though and that ended over 40 years ago.

I don't think that qualifies-as the cross-breeding of the wolf bloodline was done to improve the sturdyness of the animal. Czech winters are cold, a normal dog would have difficulty in those conditions, so they introduced a bloodline that could deal with the harsh conditions. Unlike say Bengal or Savannah cats-domestic cats crossed with wildcats for the sole reason of appearance with no thought as to temperament or health.

There are currently several varieties of domestic cat being developed from the Bengal:

* The Serengeti cat: developed from crosses with Oriental Shorthair or Siamese with the aim to produce a domestic cat mimicking the appearance of an African Serval, without actually incorporating Serval genes by hybridization.
* The Toyger: developed from crosses with domestic cats with the aim to produce a striped "toy Tiger".
* The Cheetoh: an attempt to blend two existing domestic breeds of spotted cats with defined characteristics (Bengal and Ocicat), into a third breed.