Collection
Origins & Domestication
Two species, two very different bargains with humanity.
4 entries · curated by QuanShu
Canidae
Dog
The dog is the domesticated descendant of the gray wolf — the oldest companion species, reshaped by millennia of human selection into hundreds of breeds and spread across every human landscape.
Canidae
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf is the largest wild canid, a pack-hunting carnivore of the Northern Hemisphere whose range and reputation have been reshaped by people.
Felidae
Cat
The domestic cat is a small, solitary hunter that chose the human settlement — and then the human sofa. Its story is one of the least intentional domestications in history.
Felidae
African Wildcat
The African wildcat is the small, tabby-striped ancestor of the domestic cat, widespread across Africa and southwestern Asia but increasingly diluted by hybridization.