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Maria and Sara discuss what self-domestication is. . . and isn't. Are we domesticated? Are you? All references are available on the Wild No More website at wildnomore.com. --- Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Maria and Sara talk about zebra domestication follies in colonial Africa and explain why zebra domestication history isn’t so black and white. All references are available on the Wild No More website at wildnomore.com. --- Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Happy Year of the Horse! A lot of horsing around happens as Sara and Maria talk about horse domestication, wild horses and how horses conquered the world. Mongolian horse culture myths are debunked. From food to man’s other best friend – join the ride! All references are available on the Wild No More website at wildnomore.com. --- Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Maria and Sara go hog-wild talking about pig domestication, revealing the astonishing origins of domestic pigs. The Chinese obsession with pork is exposed. Genetically modified pigs and pigs discussing philosophy – this episode has it all! All references are available on the Wild No More website at wildnomore.com. --- Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Maria and Sara dabble in the complex history of duck and goose domestication, exposing China’s longstanding obsession with waterfowl and the hidden contributions of geese to literature. Be prepared to hear about guard geese and duck diapers! All references for this episode are available at wildnomore.com. — Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Maria and Sara pull the wool OFF your eyes in their passionate discussion of sheep domestication. Sheep are cooler, smarter and way more exciting than one can possibly imagine. Sheepdogs and the cutthroat world of competitive sheep shearing – you herd it here. All references for this episode are available at wildnomore.com. — Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

A cat most certainly didn’t get Maria and Sara’s tongue in this exciting episode on cat domestication (and are they actually domesticated?). Mesopotamian superstitions about cats and Victorian cat memes galore! — All references for this episode are available at wildnomore.com. Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Maria and Sara take a deep dive into the lives of ferrets. Freakish facts about ferret physiology are revealed, and famous ferrets featured! Shout out to our listener Alicia who suggested this episode. All references are available on the Wild No More website at wildnomore.com. --- Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

This episode is hopping! Sara and Maria talk about rabbit domestication, including Nazi rabbit breeding schemes and the infamous infestation of rabbits in Australia. Maria also reveals her history of juvenile crime. All references for this episode are available at wildnomore.com. — Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Sara and Maria discuss the silk industry (sericulture) from its origin in Ancient China to modern times and some unexpected uses for silkworms. --- References used in this episode include: China Silk Museum 2019. “China focus: world’s earliest silk fabrics discovered in central China’s ruins.” http://chinasilkmuseum.com/info_180.aspx?itemid=27699 Gong et al., 2016. “Biomolecular evidence of silk from 8,500 years ago.” https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168042 Sun et al., 2012. “Phylogeny and evolutionary history of the silkworm.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22744178/ American Museum of Natural History 2009. “The secret of silk.” https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/traveling-the-silk-road/take-a-journey/xian/silk Hunt 2011. “Late Roman silk: smuggling and espionage in the 6th century CE.” http://traumwerk.stanford.edu/philolog/2011/08/byzantine_silk_smuggling_and_e.html via the Wayback Machine van Mallery, 1595. “‘Emperor Justinian receiving the first imported silkworm eggs from Nestorian Monks,’ Plate 2 from ‘The introduction of the Silkworm’ (Vermis sericus).” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/659738 Laumonier 2020. “Medieval silkworm farming: a global perspective”. https://www.medievalists.net/2020/07/medieval-silkworm-farming/ The Royal Palaces [of Sweden]. “Silk cultivation at Drottningholm.” https://www.kungligaslotten.se/english/articles-movies-360/drottningholm-palace/2020-10-14-silk-cultivation-at-drottningholm.html Heumann and Nadim, eds. “Silk culture: the history of silk farming in Prussia.” https://animalsasobjects.org/story.silk-culture/ Burner Creek 1986. “Bombyx mori and Americans: or, here we go round the mulberry bush.” https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/2407 Lullingstone Castle Silk Farm 2025. https://www.lullingstonecastle.co.uk/lullingstone-silk-farm Dong et al., 2018. "Differences in gut microbiota between silkworms (Bombyx mori) reared on fresh mulberry (Morus alba var. multicaulis) leaves or an artificial diet" https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/ra/c8ra04627a Daimon et al., 2008. “ß-fructofuranosidase genes of the silkworm, Bombyx mori” https://www.jbc.org/article/S0021-9258(20)71550-4/fulltext Nyamu et al., 201x. “Sericulture as a business.” https://infonet-biovision.org/products/sericulture-business Zhao et al., 2024. "From phyllosphere to insect cuticles: silkworms gather antifungal bacteria from mulberry leaves to battle fungal parasite attacks" https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-024-01764-6 Tanaka et al., 2009. “Highly selective tuning of a silkworm olfactory receptor to a key mulberry leaf volatile.” https://www.cell.com/AJHG/fulltext/S0960-9822(09)01034-3 Zhang et al., 2019. "A determining factor for insect feeding preference in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.” https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000162 Khosropanah et a., 2021. "Biomedical applications of silkworm (Bombyx Mori) proteins in regenerative medicine (a narrative review).” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/term.3267 Tansil et al., 2011. “Intrinsically coloured and luminescent silk.” https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adma.201003860 Nisal et al., 2013.”Uptake of azo dyes into silk glands for production of coloured silk cocoons using a green feeding approach.” https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/sc400355k Wu et al., 2021. "Nanocellulose reinforced silkworm silk fibers for application to biodegradable polymers.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127521000903 Mi et al., 2023. “High strength and ultra-tough whole spider silk fibres spun from transgenic silkworms” https://www.cell.com/matter/fulltext/S2590-2385(23)00421-6 Andersson et al., 2016. “Silk spinning in silkworms and spiders” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5000687/ Kraig Biocraft Laboratories https://www.kraiglabs.com/ Cook 2017. “Silkworm foods.” https://www.wormspit.com/wormfoods.htm Panthee et al., 2017. Advantages of the silkworm as an animal model for developing novel antimicrobial agents” https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.00373/full Wang et al., 2023. “Effects of different diets on the growth and development of young silkworms.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1226861523000985 Song et al., 2023. “Phytol from Faeces Bombycis alleviated migraine pain by inhibiting Nav1.7 sodium channels.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378874123000296 Patil et al., 2013. "Utilization of silkworm litter and pupal waste-an eco-friendly approach for mass production of Bacillus thuringiensis.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960852412020111  --- Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Sara and Maria discuss pigeons as domesticated animals and as a feral menace. -- Stupid dove nests subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/stupiddovenests/?rdt=38535 Neanderthals eating pigeons: https://phys.org/news/2014-08-ancient-pigeon-bones-reveal-secrets.html Pigeon intelligence: https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-asymmetric-brain/201907/the-surprising-neuroscience-pigeon-intelligence Ancient Mesopotamian dovecotes: http://www.anthropology.uw.edu.pl/15/bne-15-02.pdf Pigeons in ancient Rome and the Near East: https://www.asorblog.org/2017/11/28/not-just-birds-pigeons-roman-byzantine-near-east.html Pigeon and thrush dung: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jpln.202300152 The last known population of wild rock doves: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004222008926 Thailand Laugher and Arabian Trumpeter images: https://www.pigeontype.info/2018/08/31/thailand-laugher-pigeons/ Arabian trumpeter sound: https://youtu.be/bQif1fSBhe8 Stargard shakers: https://youtu.be/GxkxTyDk3s8 Homer’s reference to the silver doves of Messina: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Homer_-_Iliad,_translation_Pope,_1909.djvu/67 Parlor rollers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiQOb6dMN28 Tumbler pigeon: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sKzhk2zR340 Mike Tyson’s pigeon spending habits: https://www.essentiallysports.com/boxing-news-how-much-are-mike-tysons-pigeons-worth/ Pigeon pants (diapers): https://www.pigeonrescue.org/faqs-2/where-can-i-get-pigeon-pants/ Pigeon contraception: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/cities-are-testing-birth-control-solve-pigeon-problems Weight of pigeon poop per bird per year: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4494298/ Pigeons as research model animals: https://academic.oup.com/socpro/article-abstract/55/1/72/1640224 Jiguet et al., 2019, Urban pigeons losing toes due to human activities: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320719306901 Pigeon crop milk, signalling pathways (oxytocin etc.) and also stats on pigeon meat consumption in China: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579123002043 Pigeon racing in Belgium, from 1818 to now (with doping!): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8880243/ Pigeon racing at the 1900 Olympics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigeon_racing_at_the_1900_Summer_Olympics Chinese government cracks down on gambling on pigeon racing: https://www.pigeonsfci.net/news-detail-661f3a242f2a3.html Pigeon racers in the Mishnah: https://www.sefaria.org/English_Explanation_of_Mishnah_Rosh_Hashanah.1.8.2?lang=bi The most expensive pigeons ever sold: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54953594 Fastest pigeon racing stats: https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/63785-fastest-pigeon-race Pigeons in warfare: https://bjmh.gold.ac.uk/article/download/808/930 Pigeons in the Franco-Prussian war: https://scholarworks.harding.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=tenor Pigeons smuggling contraband into Brazilian prisons: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/01/pigeons-mobile-phones-brazil-prison Project Pigeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Pigeon Cher Ami, the decorated war pigeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cher_Ami Pigeons can detect breast cancer in medical images: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4651348/ Orthographic learning: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1607870113 Visual pattern recognition: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1989.tb00495.x Painting style discrimination: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1901/jeab.1995.63-165 Pigeons prefer Bach to Stravinsky: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1985-00463-001 Pope’s dove of peace: https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/29/popes-dove-of-peace-attacked-by-seagull-of-irony/ — Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Sara and Maria discuss goldfish as pets and as invasive species, goldfish abuse and goldfish intelligence. --- Articles used in this episode: General goldfish domestication history: https://www.pnas.org/doi/suppl/10.1073/pnas.2005545117/suppl_file/pnas.2005545117.sapp.pdf More general info, including US government distribution of goldfish: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/history-of-goldfish Genetic basis of morphological diversity in domesticated goldfish: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220305480 Feeding goldfish turmeric: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352513423002442 Pearl essence: https://cosmeticsandskin.com/cdc/pearl-essence.php Meteor goldfish: https://registerforum.org/20522/opinion/a-moral-dilemma-of-breeding-and-meteor-goldfish/ Carrot the goldfish-koi hybrid: https://www.iflscience.com/giant-goldfish-hybrid-as-heavy-as-a-10-year-old-is-a-reminder-not-to-dump-your-pets-66317 Australian goldfish migration: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ginormous-goldfish-are-invading-australian-rivers-180960177/ Distance goldfish migrate in Australia: https://phys.org/news/2016-08-gold-evidence-spawning-migration-football-size.html Goldfish spawning and parthenogenesis: https://www.agassizharrisonobserver.com/news/up-to-the-gills-in-goldfish-large-invasive-fish-a-problem-in-b-c-waters-expert-2014494 Samuel Pepy’s goldfish observations: https://the-history-girls.blogspot.com/2016/04/samuel-pepys-and-goldfish-by-karen.html Napoleon’s goldfish: https://sainthelenaisland.info/goldfish.pdf Rouhani’s goldfish statement: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-35861954 PT Barnum’s claims about introducing goldfish: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/11/the-great-goldfish-invasion-how-an-exotic-carp-took-over-america/264420/ Goldfish fishery in Lake Erie: https://www.mlive.com/news/2016/04/great_lakes_goldfish.html Judas fish technique in Hamilton Harbour (Ontario): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0380133023002460 Whole genome duplication in carp and goldfish: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-021-00933-9 Chordin gene and its role in fantail goldfish: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24444-7 Goldfish gulping trend: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/1939-year-goldfish-gulping Goldfish scooping in Japan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfish_scooping Swiss legislate keeping at least two goldfish: https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/swiss-legislation-to-affect-aquarium-hobby/ Parkinson’s disease modelled in goldfish: https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/fasebj.6.12.1521741 Goldfish driving a terrestrial vehicle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOb--M5pi6Y — Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Sara and Maria discuss dromedary and Bactrian camels, camel husbandry and the seedy word of camel competitions. — Clarification: When we are talking about camels' knobby knees and pedestal, we are talking about camels lying down. — Articles used in this show: BBC Earth (with Sir David Attenborough), A camel’s love sac. April 25, 2024. Accessed January 15, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z7kpemfqlg Brain, C. Report released as feral camel cull ends. ABC. November 20, 2013, accessed January 15, 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2013-11-21/feral-camel-culling-report/5105884 Burger, P. A., Ciani, E. and Faye, B. 2019. “Old World camels in a modern world – a balancing act between conservation and genetic improvement.” Animal Geneticsˆ.50(6): 598-612 https://doi.org/10.1111/age.12858  Desert Farms https://desertfarms.com/ Dioli, M. 2018. How much, how often and in which form should salt (NaCl) be given to a camel?. The 5th Conference of the International Society of Camelid Research and Development (ISOCARD 2018), Laâyoune, Morocco 12th-15th November 2018 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maurizio-Dioli/publication/328927749_How_much_how_often_and_in_which_form_should_salt_NaCl_be_given_to_a_camel/links/5bed1d034585150b2bb7931f/How-much-how-often-and-in-which-form-should-salt-NaCl-be-given-to-a-camel.pdf Firsker, R. Adventures in cooking with camel hump fat: a journey into the heart of humpness. May 22, 2018. Accessed via the Wayback Machine, January 14, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130181108/https://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/adventures-in-cooking-with-camel-hump-fat Herodotus. The Histories. Translated and with an Introduction by Aubrey de Selincourt. Penguin, Middlesex UK. 1955. Accessed on January 15, 2025, from https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.90895/2015.90895.Herodotus-The-Histories_djvu.txt Keller, J. 2023, January 26. “India rolls out mortar-toting camo camels for military parade.” Task and Purpose. Accessed January 14 2025. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/india-military-camels-camo-mortars/ Lazarus, S. Sunday, November 25, 2018. “Saudi entrepreneur and Amish farmers bring camel milk to US.” CNN.com. Accessed January 14, 2025 https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/25/health/camel-milk-in-the-us-intl/index.html Lewis, J. “Robots of Arabia,” Wired. November 1, 2005, accessed January 14, 2025. https://www.wired.com/2005/11/camel/ Gongora, J and Alamri, M. October 25, 2018. “Inside the world of million-dollar beauty pageants — for camels.” The Conversation. Accessed January 25, 2025. https://theconversation.com/inside-the-world-of-million-dollar-beauty-pageants-for-camels-98759 “Queens of the desert: Saudi camel beauty pageant hit by cheating.” RFI. October 12, 2021, accessed January 15, 2025. https://www.rfi.fr/en/queens-of-the-desert-saudi-camel-beauty-pageant-hit-by-cheating — Music used in this episode: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

Sara and Maria discuss guinea pig history as a meat animal, a pet and much more. Sara unleashes her inner guinea pig. --- Articles used in this episode: American Cavy Breeders' Association, accessed January 5, 2024 https://www.acbaonline.com/ Canadian Press. "Frozen guinea pig meat in Montreal court. Carcasses from Peru seized in 2009 a 'mistake': importer." March 7, 2011. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/frozen-guinea-pig-meat-in-montreal-court-1.1093335 hoakley. "Paintings of guinea pigs and goldfish." The Electric Light Company: Macs, Painting, and More. January 22, 2022. https://eclecticlight.co/2022/01/22/paintings-of-guinea-pigs-and-goldfish/ Lewejohann, Lars, et al. "Wild genius-domestic fool? Spatial learning abilities of wild and domestic guinea pigs." Frontiers in Zoology 7 (2010): 1-8. Lord, Edana, et al. "Ancient DNA of guinea pigs (Cavia spp.) indicates a probable new center of domestication and pathways of global distribution." Scientific reports 10.1 (2020): 8901. Valdez, Lidio M., and J. Ernesto Valdez. "Reconsidering the archaeological rarity of guinea pig bones in the Central Andes." Current Anthropology 38.5 (1997): 896-897. Valdez, Lidio M. "Inka sacrificial guinea pigs from Tambo Viejo, Peru." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 29.4 (2019): 595-601. Woods, Jason. "Tiny guinea pigs give a big boost," WorldArk Magazine Spring (2017). Available from https://web.archive.org/web/20170418003620/https://www.heifer.org/join-the-conversation/magazine/2017/spring/tiny-guinea-pigs-give-big-boost.html --- Intro and outro music: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/

This episode is an introduction to the subject of domestication. Sara and Maria discuss important definitions and talk about early domestication, pathways of domestication, domestication syndrome and much more. --- Articles used in the creation of this episode: Ferreira, Vitor Hugo Bessa, et al. "Are domesticated animals dumber than their wild relatives? A comprehensive review on the domestication effects on animal cognitive performance." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (2023): 105407. Gleeson, Ben Thomas, and Laura AB Wilson. "Shared reproductive disruption, not neural crest or tameness, explains the domestication syndrome." Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290.1995 (2023): 20222464. Wilkins, Adam S., Richard W. Wrangham, and W. Tecumseh Fitch. "The “domestication syndrome” in mammals: a unified explanation based on neural crest cell behavior and genetics." Genetics 197.3 (2014): 795-808. Zeder, Melinda A. "Pathways to animal domestication." Biodiversity in agriculture: domestication, evolution, and sustainability 10 (2012): 227-259. -- Intro and outro music: Nashville Vibes by Andy Warner https://tunetank.com/track/6477-nashville-vibes/