I was reading Elspeth Huxley’s memoir , “The Flame Trees of Thika”.
It is the story of here growing up in Kenya, in the early 1910’s. She adopted a baby duiker (antelope), who became her pet-the animal would live outside the house, and eat from her hand.
Now, most wild animals are afraid of man (with good reason)-humans frequently carry guns, and wild animals quickly learn to avoid people.
Yet, there are many cases of wild animals becoming pets-even though they are not domesticated, they seem to enjoy human company.
When I was a boy, a friend had a pet raccoon-it would rid on his shoulder, and eat peants from his hand-even as an adlt, it was friendly.
What causes wild animals to seek out hmans? is it mostly for the free room and board? Or something else?
Long before ANY animal species becomes domesticated, there’s usually a period of living in close proximity and of getting used to each other’s presence.
Centuries ago, I’d guess raccoons WERE afraid of people. Today, they’ve lived close to people long enough to have learned that People = FOOD. I’ve walked past raccoons in my neighborhood many times, and they don’t give me a second thought. They STILL fear and run from dogs, however.
That’s NOT always a good thing, of course. In many suburbs, bears and coyotes have learned the same thing: “Why be afraid of people? People = FOOD! They have big cans and dumpsters for me to eat out of!”
In tho OP, you mention a “baby duiker.” If it takes x weeks to get used to humans, then an adult duiker would take many, many more weeks to get used to humans, if they ever do at all. In their critical period they are more open to things like pseudo-domestication.
This. My husband and I share the house with four cats. Note that I don’t claim to own the cats. I am convinced that cats started hanging around humans because when humans began storing food, mice hung around, and cats went where there was a good steady supply of mice. Then it turns out that some humans are complete and total suckers for cats, especially kittens, so more cats hung around. And since an animal that has a steady and plentiful food source is more likely to survive and breed than one who doesn’t, the cats that hung around humans had an advantage over those who didn’t.
Not to mention that the people noticed that the cats were keeping down their rodent problem.
I call male bovine manure.
Cats are enemies of creatures of the night.
Nah, a werewolf would make short work of any cat, and cats pretty much ignore vampires.
Professional courtesy?
I once had a baby bird. All the others in the nest were dead, and one of the adults was flat on the road. So I started to feed it, it started to follow me, I taught it to fly & how to find worms. It would come to me when I called it. It just thought I was it’s parent, I think.
Chirp was a cool bird 
I would guess a lot depends on how the animals relate to each other. The wolf ancestors of dogs lived in cooperative packs, so it was easy for them to transfer that mentality towards living in a human pack.
Contrast the dog/human bond with a human/bird of prey bond. One of my friends is into falconry, and my understanding is that the relationship is very different. Her bird (a hawk and I’ve forgotten the exact species right now) treats her more like a hunting partner/source of good food than a packmate/family member.
My friend tells me that her bird may very well decide to fly away one day. My dogs, on the other hand, had to be trained to understand that it’s okay for me to leave them alone for a few minutes . :rolleyes:
Now the raccoons in my neighborhood are evil pranksters. I’m convinced they hang around humans because they love showing us how incompetent we are. I’ve tried at least half a dozen contraptions to keep them out of my garbage cans while still allowing the garbage collectors to open them. None worked. Oh, and they also like to fuck with domestic pets. They may be afraid of dogs, but the evil things love to come by my patio door at night just to taunt my dogs. They have no other reason to come by that door. They just love fucking with my dogs.
No, cats ARE creatures of the night. Witness the Midnight Crazies, or the Rips, or whatever you want to call that fun period of time when most humans are getting ready for bed and the cats are revving up for a good tear-ass session around the house.
Not my cats. The morning is the time for that. I guess the common denominator is that it occurs when you’re trying to sleep.
I used to have an owl. I was walking home down a dry creekbed one day, and he began following me. When I got home I got some chicken from the fridge and put it on the patio table. He came and ate like like he was starving. He stayed for the next four years, coming and going as he pleased, bringing his latest catch to the table, much to my mom’s chagrin. “Does he have to eat mice on my table?”
Good times. 
You had an OWL? How cool is that?
I had a toad purely because it turned up in an Ikea bag that I was about to dump a load of books in to take to a charity shop. But frogs will live with humans as long as they provide food and water and a damp place to sleep (we rehomed Ike in the Spring. I couldn’t stand feeding him crickets after one time when they all escaped at once from his food bag and I had to stand over his crate beating the crickets to death with a spoon).
For the other animals that could leave - well, we give them food, shelter and warmth, for a start. And it’s not so weird that they sometimes like us, considering that we sometimes like them.
OK, it’s time to drag out the Beet Pulp Story again. It’s the story of a squirrel and his living and dining arrangements.
Wild Animals That Become Pets-Why Do They Do It?
For the soft cushions and steady food supply - why else?