Talk About FOX TALK Contest

July 22, 2013


Have you ever noticed that domestic animals share physical characteristics with each other, but not with their wild ancestors? Floppy ears, for instance. Elephants are the only wild species with floppy ears, but they occur in breeds of dog, horse, pig, and even rabbit.

Darwin was the first scientist to study this, but he couldn’t explain it. Almost 100 years later, Russian geneticist Dmitri Belyaev took up the challenge. Belyaev believed that the most important trait domestic animals shared was their behaviour – their tolerance of, and affection for, humans. He believed that selecting animals for tame behaviour changed something so fundamental in the species’ DNA, a cascade of physical changes would also result.

There was only one way to test this hypothesis – an experiment. In 1959, Belyaev set out to domesticate foxes. Starting with animals purchased from fur farms, his team bred only the tamest foxes each generation. After only four rounds of breeding, a fox pup wagged its tail at a researcher… something no fox had ever done before. And it wasn’t just behaviour that changed: fifty years later, the foxes look like this:

Domestic fox cubs on couch

Warning: this much cuteness may cause your heart to burst!
Image courtesy of Dr. Svetlana Gogoleva

The white markings on the face of the center fox is another trait common to domestic animals. Belyaev’s team identified the gene that produces these marks, as well as genes that are linked to tame behaviour – to domestication itself. And these days, the foxes are so domesticated, people keep them as pets!

I learned about this experiment my first year of graduate school. After I finished shrieking “OMG I want one!” I couldn’t wait to learn more about domestic foxes, and I am beyond thrilled that I’ve been given a chance to write about them. Aimed at kids ages 8-10, FOX TALK releases August 20th. It’s about communication between humans and animals, and how domestic foxes helped crack the code.

Fox Talk book cover, L. E. Carmichael, L. E. Carmichael authorTo celebrate the launch – and the launch of my shiny new website – I’m having a Talk About FOX TALK contest! Every comment between now and August 20th (12:01 AM, Atlantic Time) will be entered to win an autographed copy of the book. Everybody who spreads the word gets an extra entry, so share on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else you like – just leave me a comment with a link.

For teachers, librarians, and anyone else who works with kids, I’m offering a bonus prize – an hour-long author visit via Skype. You can choose from my workshops and school programs, or request a topic your group will love.

So let’s talk! What are your thoughts on the domestication experiment? Would you want a fox of your own? How much of what you say does your pet understand? I’d love to know. 😀

 

 



34 Comments on ‘Talk About FOX TALK Contest’

  1. Congratulations on the new site! Great first blog.

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    1. Thanks, Melissa!

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  2. Wow Lindsey, beautiful job girl! And a lot of frustration and work. Love the site! It looks like a pro did it. Very nice!

    So can I just tell you how much I love that cute picture of the baby foxes? They are adorable. And your header looks amazing! You did it, you did it! Happy dance time! Best wishes to your book launch Lindsey. 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much, Karen! The WordPress theme is called Encounters, and for a very reasonable fee, I upgraded to the pro version. It’s very easy to use and the theme designer is amazing at providing support.

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  3. Lindsey, your site is gorgeous! Congratulations on such a beautiful site! I’d love to enter my daughter’s school librarian for the bonus workshop (they haven’t returned to school yet), so let me know how to do that. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Diana! Hmmm, I didn’t think about librarians being on vacation when I set up the contest. Tell you what – leave her name and the name of the school in another comment, and I’ll give you both an entry. 🙂

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      1. That is so sweet of you! Her name is Sandi Acheson of Sigler Elementary. 🙂

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  4. Oh! They are beautiful! I want one! ha! Glad they don’t smell either, you did say that right? 🙂

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    1. Aren’t they adorable?

      Their fur doesn’t smell at all – I’m allergic to most dogs, but I had my face right up to the foxes and had no trouble. They do have anal scent glands, which vets can remove, but since they do best when they live in outdoor enclosures, that might not be a big issue anyway.

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  5. So cute, Lindsey!! Love the new site. 🙂

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Jenny!

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  6. Wow. That is amazing. I had never heard of this experiment before. I studied a little bit on the traits of domesticated animals in my genetics class but somehow did not come across this experiment. I will have to look it up and read more about it. Congratulations on the new website!

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    1. Thanks, Josie! If you’re interested in learning more (before you buy my book, of course! 🙂 you might want to start with this National Geographic article:

      http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/03/taming-wild-animals/ratliff-text

      This one in American Scientist is a bit more technical, but still very readable:

      http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/page2/early-canid-domestication-the-farm-fox-experiment

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  7. Great site Lindsay 🙂 the foxes are gorgeous and what a great idea you had with the contest. Best of luck with the book launch.

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    1. Thanks, Kim!

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  8. the site looks wonderful and the book sounds fascinating! and yeah, those foxes are CUTE!

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    1. Aren’t they so adorable? I still want one…

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  9. looks fantastic!

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    1. Thanks, Halli!

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  10. Congrats and good job on the new website! I’m excited to (try) to share the website address with a niece of mine who is an animal lover and a teacher friend of mine.

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    1. Thanks, Marla!

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  11. Love the new website! Bet you’re glad to get it done. 🙂

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    1. Oh, so glad. There are a few bugs left to work out, but that can be done over time. 🙂

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  12. Congrats! The site is amazing! Not that I’d expect anything less from you ;>. I will be ordering a copy for Sebastian and will recommend it for the school library (I think they were going to order the migration series too)! Sebastian thinks Auntie Lindsey is awesome!

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  13. Thanks, Jules! I hope Sebastian loves the book. It was so much fun to write.

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  14. Fascinating! I’ve read a lot about the effects of domestication on behavior over generations but had missed the part about domestication having physical effects, too. Raises all kinds of interesting trains of thought. Would love to win the Skype visit for my library!

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    1. It explains why selecting for physical traits (in breeds for examples) can have effects in the opposite direction, too – like on temperament and health.

      I’ll make sure you get entered!

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