The Tameness Test
To be referred to breed, each fox had to pass a series of tests, which shows it's response to human presence and contact.
The first test is conducted when the kit is one month old. A handler attempts to offer the baby fox food, and tries to stroke it's fur. This simple test is done twice a month; once in an individual cage and once in a larger pen full of other baby foxes, until the kit is seven or eight months old. (Or until it reaches sexual maturity.)
After eight months, it is placed into one of four classes. Each class is a different level of tameness, and the better the class, the better the fox's chances of it being labeled 'qualified' for breeding.
The first video is a test being conducted to a domesticated fox, and the second is an 'aggressive' fox responding to a human.
The first test is conducted when the kit is one month old. A handler attempts to offer the baby fox food, and tries to stroke it's fur. This simple test is done twice a month; once in an individual cage and once in a larger pen full of other baby foxes, until the kit is seven or eight months old. (Or until it reaches sexual maturity.)
After eight months, it is placed into one of four classes. Each class is a different level of tameness, and the better the class, the better the fox's chances of it being labeled 'qualified' for breeding.
The first video is a test being conducted to a domesticated fox, and the second is an 'aggressive' fox responding to a human.
The Classes
Class I: The kit evades or bites handler, but may allow itself to be hand-fed.
Class II: The fox tolerates petting, and rarely bites it's handler. The fox isn't overly friendly, though. (It's just playing nice for food!)
Class III: The kit sometimes wags it's tail and begs for attention when it spots a human.
Class IE(Domesticated Elite): The fox sniffs and licks it's handler with honest curiosity before turning even a month old.
The unexpected Class IE was formed in the second generation of foxes, and today, 70-80% of the foxes are labeled as 'Domesticated Elite.'
Q: Which class do you think the first fox in the video would be assigned to? What about the second aggressive fox?
Class II: The fox tolerates petting, and rarely bites it's handler. The fox isn't overly friendly, though. (It's just playing nice for food!)
Class III: The kit sometimes wags it's tail and begs for attention when it spots a human.
Class IE(Domesticated Elite): The fox sniffs and licks it's handler with honest curiosity before turning even a month old.
The unexpected Class IE was formed in the second generation of foxes, and today, 70-80% of the foxes are labeled as 'Domesticated Elite.'
Q: Which class do you think the first fox in the video would be assigned to? What about the second aggressive fox?
