"Can you cite an example of an animal we have changed so much it won't survive without us?? Even dogs and cats are geneticly capable of surviving just fine."


If you'd claimed that "mutts" survive in the wild then I'd not dispute your statement (although I've seen a lot of dying/starving mutts in animal shelters, so maybe they wouldn't do very well).  Domestic animals have been selectively bred into many different "breeds" and a good number of those would be helpless without humans.


Over 80% of purebred bulldogs are now born via C-section.  To survive in the wild, meaning reproduce on their own....well, they wouldn't.  Shar-peis require so much grooming that they'd quickly become sick without it.  There are many other examples of both dog and cat breeds that are not suited to fending for themselves.


I've been told by veterinarians that today's production dairy cattle have such stressed bodies that they are susceptible to too many ailments without constant human attention, and they probably would not be able to forage for the kind and amount of food they've been bred to require.

See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2748269/


Hobby chicken breeders know that some breeds of chickens have become such poor brooders (because they never have to sit on their own eggs anymore) that they would not survive without a surrogate...they'd abandon all their eggs.


If you read about today's hog production, it is apparent that the only traits selected for are related to fertility and meat quality.   Hog selection is not based on intelligence,  stamina, or anything else related to survival in the wild.  So it is questionable what a production hog would do now if suddenly released into the wild from its 7 X 2 foot gestation crate.  See (http://livestocktrail.illinois.edu/swinerepronet/paperDisplay.cfm?ContentID=7588)


So yes, there are animals that depend on us and would not survive in the wild....meaning they would not successfully reproduce.....without humans.

Christina

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html