Wild vs tamed vs domesticated… which one are you?
Every summer since I was little, my aunt takes me to visit the Denver Zoo. Since she volunteers there, my family is able to participate in special programs, like feeding the giraffes. It’s a lot of fun, and the animals seem so nice! Are all the animals at the zoo friendly and tame? Perhaps they’re domesticated? Surprisingly, my aunt told me that most of them are wild! How could I make the mistake of thinking some zoo animals are tame when they are wild? Could some of the animals actually be domesticated? What’s the difference? Well, here’s what I learned!
Wild animals are defined as animals who are living in their natural environment. They are not used to human interaction and will either fight or flee when people are near. Using zoo animals as an example, if you were to enter a lion’s exhibit, these big cats would not be happy to see you. Because they aren’t trained to be friendly to humans, they may treat you like any other animal (ie. dinner).
Tamed animals are defined as an individual wild animal that is specifically trained to feel comfortable around humans. For example, when my family got to feed the giraffes, they didn’t run away or freeze up because they were trained to not fear humans. Wild giraffes, on the other hand, would surely run away from me regardless of how much lettuce I was holding. One thing to note, however, is that they still have their wild instincts. There are numerous videos on YouTube that show the dangers of trusting a “tame” lion.
Domesticated animals are defined as animals who are genetically modified to live with humans (like farm animals). This is not the same as a tame animal, although there are some similarities.
Domestic animals are very reliant on humans and would have difficulty surviving on their own. For example, my dog Alfie, a 7-pound Toy Poodle, barely survives by himself in our backyard, let alone in the wild. I feel like he is more a direct descendant of stuffed animals than of wild wolves. Because humans have been breeding out certain characteristics for such a long time, dogs are very domesticated have become “man’s best friend.”
Humans, no matter how far away we live from nature, encounter animals on almost a daily basis, especially here in Beaverton. We have pets in our homes, see birds in the trees, or even encounter the occasional deer, raccoon, or coyote on a hike. Every animal falls into one of the three categories I learned about.
Humans, as it turns out, are also classified as animals. And, if this is the case, what would we be considered? Wild? Tame? Domesticated?
Mizuki Wong is a 10th grader at Mountainside High School. In their free time, they enjoy drawing, animating on YouTube, listening to music and learning about science.
