According to Jared Diamond, the primary reason only a select few animal species were successfully domesticated is that very few wild species possess the rare combination of crucial characteristics necessary for domestication. Most large mammal species simply do not meet these stringent biological requirements.
Diamond identifies six key criteria that a wild animal species must fulfill to be suitable for domestication:
Key Criteria for Domesticable Species
For a species to be successfully domesticated and provide significant benefits to humans, it must exhibit a specific set of biological and behavioral traits. The simultaneous presence of all these traits is exceedingly rare in the animal kingdom.
- Diet: The animal must have a diet that is easy and efficient for humans to provide. Herbivores and omnivores are ideal, as they can convert plant matter, which is abundant, into meat, milk, or other products. Carnivores are generally inefficient to domesticate because feeding them requires raising other animals, making them a costly and resource-intensive endeavor.
- Growth Rate: A fast growth rate is essential for a species to be economically viable for domestication. Animals must grow quickly to reach their full size and reproductive maturity within a reasonable timeframe, maximizing the return on human investment in their care and feeding. This rapid growth ensures they can produce the most food or other benefits in the shortest period.
- Breeding in Captivity: The species must be able to breed readily and predictably in a captive environment. Many wild animals, even if otherwise suitable, fail to reproduce when confined or under human control due to stress or specific breeding requirements that cannot be met outside their natural habitat.
- Disposition and Temperament: The animal must possess a calm, non-aggressive, and amenable disposition. Species that are naturally too wild, aggressive, or dangerous towards humans are impractical to manage, control, and live alongside safely.
- Lack of Panic: The species must not be prone to extreme panic or flight responses when startled or confined. Animals that panic easily can injure themselves or their handlers, making them difficult to herd, enclose, or manage effectively.
- Social Structure: A suitable social structure is often crucial. Animals that live in herds, have a well-defined dominance hierarchy, and do not possess strong territorial instincts are more easily managed by humans, who can assume the role of the dominant figure within their social order. Solitary or highly territorial animals are much harder to domesticate.
Why So Few Species?
The scarcity of domesticated animal species stems from the fact that very few large mammals naturally possess all six of these necessary characteristics. Even if a species meets five of the six criteria, the failure to meet just one can render it undomesticable. This strict biological filter explains why, out of thousands of potential species, only a handful have ever been successfully domesticated throughout human history.
