Are Foxes Rapidly Becoming More Like Dogs? Scientists Think So

Most animals have the instinct to spend their lives with humans. Study of foxes in London for many years report a ratio of 1:300 in the number of foxes to humans. This observation implies that foxes are spending more time in the city over the years with humans. Spending more time in cities requires adaptation to survival in the new environment and foxes are doing so at a faster rate. The heads of urban foxes are becoming smaller and shorter with wider snouts when compared to their rural-dwelling ones. Besides, the sizes of males and females show many differences when urban foxes are compared with rural ones. This study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B has thrown more light in the evolution of foxes and has made many to delve into similar changes that took place in dogs and cats when they first began to live with humans.

Rapid changes of this nature most times involve rapid genetic mutations. In this case, the wider snout suggests adaptation to sniffing food in city garbage.

Again, spending more time in the city by urban foxes can decrease their chances of mating with their rural-dwelling counterparts which in turn give them chances of adapting to city conditions by breeding useful characters. Spending time in the city with humans have also made these urban foxes become more or less like pets thus priming them for domestication.

Changes that involve adaptative skills to survival in the wild further suggest rapid evolution even though such changes are small in urban foxes.

Though some scientists argued that these changes that occurred were not as a result of random mutations having random effects as many often believed, we may soon see many exotic pet lovers opening up their doors to urban foxes.

This story first appeared on Inverse. Read it here.

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