IC&G Now
The research of domestication still continues today, led by Lyudmila Trut, who was working as an intern for Belyaev when the project was first started. Anna Kukekova now helps Trut, and the institute has suffered many funding cuts from the Russian Government.
In 1999, IC&G had no choice but to cut down their standing fox population from 700 to 100, in order to keep the foxes fed, and their researchers paid.
Left: Six researchers at IC&G, Lyudmila Trut in center, wearing black.
In 1999, IC&G had no choice but to cut down their standing fox population from 700 to 100, in order to keep the foxes fed, and their researchers paid.
Left: Six researchers at IC&G, Lyudmila Trut in center, wearing black.
SibFox
Because only the top 5% of tame foxes are allowed to breed, the other 95%, (who are perfectly friendly, just not the best) are either sold to fur farms, or distributed as pets. Each fox costs about $7,000 to be shipped to your doorstep (If you live in the US). An organization located in San Francisco, CA, known as SibFox, help distribute these foxes to pet-owners.
The steep price covers the fox's shipment from Siberia to America, and all immunizations are given to the fox before it leaves the farm. Also, the fox is neutured, so unlicenced genetacists won't breed their own line of domesticated foxes in their backyard illegally. If you are interested in aquiring a tame fox (get me one too, while you're at it) visit www.sibfox.com.
All profits go to the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, so they can continue their research on domestication and molecular genetics. "Our foxes are as loyal as dogs, and as independant as cats," Lyudmila Trut says in an article she wrote for the American Scientist Magazine in 1999.
The steep price covers the fox's shipment from Siberia to America, and all immunizations are given to the fox before it leaves the farm. Also, the fox is neutured, so unlicenced genetacists won't breed their own line of domesticated foxes in their backyard illegally. If you are interested in aquiring a tame fox (get me one too, while you're at it) visit www.sibfox.com.
All profits go to the Institute of Cytology and Genetics, so they can continue their research on domestication and molecular genetics. "Our foxes are as loyal as dogs, and as independant as cats," Lyudmila Trut says in an article she wrote for the American Scientist Magazine in 1999.
Only about five people in the USA currently own a domesticated Siberian fox, and one owner posted pictures and a paragraph of her foxes here.
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tossie-sd
(However, this owner lives in the Netherlands, but the foxes are still the same.)
http://www.furaffinity.net/user/tossie-sd
(However, this owner lives in the Netherlands, but the foxes are still the same.)
Manya the vixen (female fox)
