I seem to remember reading somewhere that pigs could go wild pretty quickly. What about horses? Cows and bulls? Dogs and cats and rats? Which is the best adapted, mentally and physically to go “back to nature” and survive sucessfully?
It really depends on how you would define a domesticated animal. Ferrets, for instance, which many people keep as pets, are little changed from their wild counterparts and could probably go feral at the drop of a hat, but are they really domesticated to begin with? You mention rats…with the exception of specialized breeds used for medical experiments most pet rats could happily fend for themselves in the proper enviroment.
It also depends on what environment you are talking about. A huskie or other type of sled dog may be able to fend for itself on the tundra. A chihuahua…not so much.
In general, cats seem to be better able to survive in a feral state than dogs. I suspect most modern breeds of cattle would have trouble surviving on their own in a truly harsh environment.
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I think domesticated dogs might have a bit more of a problem than you’d expect. Wild dogs are schooled by the pack in hunting techniques. A lone dog would have trouble in bringing down enough food to support itself, whereas a pack can take down a moose or deer by working cooperatively. A domestic pet is used to having food brought to it in a bowl, and left to fend for itself, would be in dire straits. Dogs’ hunting instincts, unless schooled, seem to atrophy in domestic pets down to “chase it if it runs.” They might not know how to kill an animal even if they should catch it.
Cats, while domesticated, are still semi-wild. Their hunting and killing techniques seem instinctual. A mother cat helps fine-tune this instinct by bringing half-dead prey to her kittens, but even without training, domestic cats seem quite capapble of catching enough rodents and birds to support themselves. Cats do not need to hunt cooperatively, so they can fend for themselves much better than a lone, unschooled dog.
Umm… the newly single? Them, and teenagers when the 'rents are away.
No cite for this, But I’ve heard that pigs will completly revert to wild hogs after a few generations in the wild. Can anyone confirm?
I think cats can go from feral to domesticated and right back to feral pretty quickly. I have adopted 4 male cats who were all living la vida loca on the streets, fending for themselves. Within a few months, they were lazing around the house waiting for food. I have no illusions, though-- if they got out, I’m sure they’d go right back to killing small animals and dumpster diving. They have never lost their killer instinct; witness the decapitated mice I find from time to time.
We always had (still have, I guess) several half-feral cats on the farm. They’ll come around for food, but many are unapproachable otherwise. And there are always a few cats in the neighbourhood that don’t belong to anyone, but seem to be doing just fine.
Dogs, at least those of appropriate breeds, could probably survive, provided there were enough of them to form a pack, but wouldn’t become completely feral for many generations. Solo dogs likely wouldn’t survive.
Horses go feral at the drop of a hat, and fend for themselves perfectly well, given some open grasslands. Cows wouldn’t do as well. For one thing, they won’t forage through snow, so unless they’re far enough south or there are food sources such as haystacks, they won’t make it through winter. Dairy breeds would probably have the hardest time. Some beef breeds would probably be okay, providing they weren’t too far north. Most any serious pressure, though, from predation or competition for food, would likely overwhelm them, except for a few more primitive breeds.
I’ve never really thought about feral pigs, but knowing what I do about them, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they went feral and did very well almost immediately. Goats would likely also do well. Sheep much less so.
Dairy cows would definately have a hard time. Most of them have their calves taken away, and without anyone to milk them, their udders would burst.
Given the antibiotics that food animals are heavily dosed with on a regular basis, it seems to me that without them, they could be felled in droves by natural bacteria, having not built an immunity to it.
Cattle are also docile and dumb. Without human support, there would be a massive die-off in the first winter. Perhaps the decendents of the hearty few would survive, but it would be tough going for a while.
Without humans to control their numbers, predators like wildcats and wolves would quickly repopulate, given the plentiful food provided by cattle and pigs. The dogs that survived the intitial die-off from helplessness would interbreed with the wolves, and pobably do quite well for themselves.
Of course, eventually an equilibrium would be reached. All of the more “soft” animals would starve, or become food for predators. The ones who survived would have to become tougher and smarter, leading to a gradual decline of predators.
Good thing I put the weasel word “may” in that sentence, then.
O.K., how about this: a PACK of huskies on the tundra, vs. a PACK of chihuahuas, or dacshunds, or pekinese. I submit that some breeds of dog would have marginally better chances of survival in certain enviroments than other breeds, that’s all.
BTW, I understand pet rabbits can get along on their own reasonably well. I have read that all of the “wild” rabbits in Britain (think Watership Down) are descended from captives that escaped centuries ago.
Elephants it should be noted are largely feral already.
They rarely bred in captivity (in Asia), instead working elephants commute to the countryside after work and walk back to the (construction or logging site, whatever) in the morning.
(What did ya think? They lock 'em in kennels at night?)
They seem to like the mental stimulation of having something to do.
We’ve got feral pigs in the woods down by the river here in East Texas. They’re very large.
Many pigs are only partially domesticated anyway. I once was with my wife’s cousin while he fed his pigs. He told me to stay out of the yard and he fed them from a wagon drawn tractor without ever getting down among them.
Holy Cow!!! Is it possible to read “wagon drawn tractor” as “tractor drawn wagon?” Please?
I’d say “That’s a lot of bull” but it would be a bad play on words so I won’t.
Bulls are anything but docile when they think there is competition around.
Many range cattle are pretty wild and far from “docile.”
Laughing Lagomorph, my pet ferret in college seemed a great deal more domesticated than the two-year-olds that I was teaching at the time. She was potty-trained and listened to most of what I said.
Seriously though, ferrets have a bite and grip instinct. This one accidentally bit me once and let go with an apologetic look. It seemed like she ignored this instinct in an attempt to be more domesticated. That’s just my opinion though…
I would have to put my vote in for Pit Bulls. From what I’ve seen and experianced they can go from loving to lethal in seconds.
-x out
Racing pigeons can go feral at any time, this would be my candidate.
Yes, it is true. They don’t even look like domestic pigs at all. They grow large tusks, are extremely hairy, and very dangerous. On our farm in Texas, they have become a very big problem. There have always been the occasional mountain lion in the area, but no one worried about them too much. But now that the feral hogs are around, no one goes off into the woods without a gun.
Not true, really. We had cows for a while, and though they were fed hay in the winter, they still foraged. They will even eat the bark off trees if needed as well as eat the undergrowth in the forests. Of course, we bought cows specifically as ones that could live that way. Your specialized breeds would have a tougher time of it.
Some of our cows were pretty wild and would never let humans get close to them. We had one that could not be contained by a fence. She would break any fence she wanted to if she wanted to go somewhere else. She wasnt your typical cow, but she definintely wasn’t docile.
Tex, those swine out in the brush are likely the ordinary old porcus domesticus, or whatever the standard Duroc-Poland China hybrid is called. All pigs have tusks. Pig farmers clip them off early in life, when the pig is just a day or two old.
Pigs revert to the wild quickly, almost overnight. They will kill and eat anything that they can catch. However, they do just fine rooting for roots and grubs and fallen fruit. For my money the most dangerous animal in North America is a big old wild or half wild sow with a litter. Even when they are fed and confined, you don’t want to get among them on foot. Every rural district has stories about someone who was eaten by the pigs. Once they knock you down you are in serious trouble. This is one reason farmers went from free range to confinement to raise pork–it’s a lot safer in confinement.