Humans Sharing Food With Animals for Centuries. Why Is That?

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kitesandtrainsandcats
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11 May 2021, 11:54 pm

Humans Have Been Sharing Food With Animals for Centuries. Why Is That?
Researchers want to learn more about the connections between humans and the feeding of birds, beasts and other fauna.
By James Gorman May 11, 2021

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Almost nothing about humans feeding animals is fully understood, largely because scholars have not given the subject a great deal of attention. And that, most of all, is what the researchers in England and Scotland want to change. With a four-year grant of more than $2 million from the Wellcome Trust, five researchers are pursuing a collaborative multidisciplinary attempt to give animal feeding its due, and begin to answer some puzzling questions. They call their project, “From ‘Feed the Birds’ to ‘Do Not Feed the Animals.’”

Naomi Sykes, an archaeologist at the University of Exeter, is the moving force behind the project.


https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/scie ... umans.html


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kraftiekortie
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12 May 2021, 6:45 am

Because they care about their fellow animals....and sometimes (especially in the old days) wanted to recruit some for domestication.



goldfish21
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12 May 2021, 11:03 am

Intuitive realization that biodiversity is good for the ecosystem we depend on.

Feed the birds = humans enamored by flight. Plus maybe a little bit of dinosaur love/respect to the descendants of the ancients that were here before us & now keep a watchful eye over us from the sky.

Do not feed the animals = don't attract predators, pests, or poop.


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naturalplastic
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12 May 2021, 12:39 pm

Strikes me as a silly thing to "study". People strike up relationships with animals for varied reasons -ranging from sentimental ...to crass and economically exploitive. Any and all may involve carrots of reward as well as sticks of punishment. Food is an obvious way to reward, both humans and animals, for desired behavior.



Fnord
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12 May 2021, 12:57 pm

Because birdies are cute, and feeding them makes me happy.

:D


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Mr Reynholm
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12 May 2021, 1:43 pm

My dog know that he gets the last bite of whatever I'm eating.



aghogday
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12 May 2021, 4:16 pm



Image

Yes,

Yes, Other

Animals Still

Are Above And

Beyond Human

Animals Surely

Deserving of

Great

Praise

Thanks And

Worshipping By Feeding Them

Food No Different than [(God(s)]

Turning Into Bread And Wine As

Such And Eating Them At Least iT Ain't
Zombie Death-Cult Activity All Pagan As Such...

Other Than That There Are Many Feelings, Sensings, And
Other Reasons of Subsistence And Religion In This Way of Doing It...

Surely Ripe For Million Dollar Expenditures in Study Yes Feeding The Birds/Squirrels, Etc... i Do...



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naturalplastic
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12 May 2021, 4:49 pm

According to Alaskan Indian mythology: long ago the dog lived with the wolf deep in the forest. Then one day, in the middle of the long subarctic night, the wolf instructed the dog to sneak into the village of man to steal fire from man, and to bring it back to the forest.

The dog managed to sneak into the human village, but was discovered by the humans. The curious humans proceeded to give the dog strips of smoked salmon. And the dog abandoned it's mission, and opted to stay in the village with the humans. And the dog has lived with man ever since.
++++++++++++++++++++++++

Its about the most plausible explanation I have ever heard to explain the domestication of the dog. :lol:



cyberdad
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12 May 2021, 7:03 pm

There are a multitude of reasons why humans feed animals so studying this is not about discovering "why" but "whats the most common reason"

Two that come to mind:
1. Spiritual connection to flora/fauna. Man lives off the land and to respect the spirits we show respect by offering food to various animals. For example in India there are temples where rats are fed because its considered auspicious.

2. Companionship. Humans have been keeping animals as pets for centuries. Many animals form a bond with their owners (which is reciprocated) and its natural we share food with our pets.



naturalplastic
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13 May 2021, 1:37 am

Maybe humans do have some kind of inborn compulsion to feed animals. That would explain why the National Park Service has to expend so much effort to get tourists driving to Yellowstone to not feed the bears that come up to their cars.

And animals themselves sometimes feed other species of animals. There was a photo in a bird guide book we had years ago of goldfish in an outdoor pond being fed by a pair of songbirds. The school of domestic goldfish would eagerly crowd and break the water's surface, and the birds would dutifully stuff bugs, and earthworms into their mouths as if the fish were their own fledglings. The book caption explained how the birds simply react instinctively to the site yawning mouths.

So I suppose that its possible that animals can trigger a similar parenting instinct in humans that may cause humans to feed them. But the black bears at yellowstone are rather LARGE babies.



cyberdad
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13 May 2021, 3:14 am

naturalplastic wrote:
So I suppose that its possible that animals can trigger a similar parenting instinct in humans that may cause humans to feed them. But the black bears at yellowstone are rather LARGE babies.


Have you tried feeding a hungry tiger?



naturalplastic
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13 May 2021, 9:01 am

cyberdad wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
So I suppose that its possible that animals can trigger a similar parenting instinct in humans that may cause humans to feed them. But the black bears at yellowstone are rather LARGE babies.


Have you tried feeding a hungry tiger?


The ancient Romans would feed -other people- to lions, tigers, and even to moray eels. Usually as punishment for some crime. But still...

Not my idea of fun.



goldfish21
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13 May 2021, 4:58 pm

Self preservation, perhaps?

Gotta keep food fed or they won't keep breeding new edible babies.


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13 May 2021, 7:33 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
cyberdad wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:
So I suppose that its possible that animals can trigger a similar parenting instinct in humans that may cause humans to feed them. But the black bears at yellowstone are rather LARGE babies.


Have you tried feeding a hungry tiger?


The ancient Romans would feed -other people- to lions, tigers, and even to moray eels. Usually as punishment for some crime. But still...

Not my idea of fun.


There is a zoo run by the late Steve Irwin on the Queensland Sunshine coast in northern Australia. Irwin obtained lions which he considered tame, I visited the zoo a few years and watched the keepers playing with the lions. When it came time for feeding the lions were transferred to cages and suddenly became extremely aggressive and loud. They snarled at the keepers and bared their teeth which was very frightening to see. The keepers used really long metal rods to send the meat to the hungry beasties.

I shook my head and wondered how long it would be before these lions decided why wait for dinner time, when dinner was walking around them 24-7. As it turned out for two of the lions they didn't have to wait long. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... o-70945229



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15 May 2021, 11:44 am

It all started to lure them close enough to catch and eat.


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