Humans are obsessed with domesticating beasts, causing the extinction of the lion and the Asian cheetah, and the descendants of gray wolves everywhere

The earth was originally the home of wild animals and plants. More than 200,000 years ago, the earth was still based on the survival of the fittest. Therefore, all kinds of animals have evolved into a variety of species, among which cats and canines are Becoming the best among them, a series of feline beasts, bears, wolves and other beasts have become the top existence of the food chain.

Once upon a time, our ancestors, the ancient human beings, were in a very weak position. In the environment surrounded by beasts, the ancient human beings could almost only become one of the food for the beasts. In fact, all human beings on earth currently have a single ancestor, that is, African apes. Before the migration of African apes, many ancient humans that were related to our ancestors died out. The important reason for this is It’s just that the cats and other beasts are too powerful, and a small area near the Sahara in Africa has enough time for the local ancient apes to grow up because there are fewer beasts. After mastering the use of tools, ancient humans had the first time The strength to stand at the top of the food chain.

Since 200,000 years before history, ancient humans have gradually migrated to all parts of the world, and have launched direct competition with various beasts, and have an advantage. With the increasing ability of human beings to control the natural world, the ancients also began to domesticate animals. In addition to herbivores such as pigs, cattle and sheep, people in some areas began to try to domesticate and conquer beasts, and it lasted for a long time. , Although humans claim to be higher animals, they are more likely to fail in the face of unyielding beasts, which also directly led to the extinction of many wild species. Three of these beasts are very representative: lions, cheetahs and gray wolves.

1st place: Barbary Lion.

Barbary lions are lions living in North Africa. They are huge and comparable to Siberian tigers. They have thick hair on their abdomens and necks. They were once the most powerful animals in North Africa. extraordinary. However, when Europeans were able to reach North Africa, Barbary lions met their greatest enemy.

In ancient Rome, warriors were very worshipped, so they were keen on fighting beasts, and the Barbary lion was the highest beast. The ancient Roman Empire spent a lot of manpower to capture the Barbary lion. According to records, there was a time when the ancient Roman Empire ruled in order to welcome the festival. As many as 600 Barbary lions were used in the beast-fighting show held by the organizer, which shows that the number of Barbary lions was captured. Under the circumstance of arm wrestling with the Barbary lion in the ancient Roman Empire, the Barbary lion changed from the top beast in North Africa to a rare beast.

With the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Barbary lion gained a brief respite and its numbers increased, however, subsequent European colonial rule again slashed the Barbary lion with a butcher knife, this time more thoroughly, and the last in the wild in 1922 A Barbary lion was hunted. The surviving Barbary lions live in zoos or circuses and become playthings of Europeans. Today, there are no pure-bred Barbary lions. Occasionally, there are lions with atavistic features, which are also hybrids of Barbary lions and other species of lions. offspring.

Second place: Asian cheetah.

The Asian cheetah is neither a leopard nor a cat. It belongs to the genus Cheetah. Why is it so special? There's a reason for that, because they're neither as fierce as leopards nor as docile as cats. They are mavericks, like gentlemen walking in the wild. After humans failed to domesticate ligers and other wild beasts, the cheetah skill satisfies the vanity of human beings to conquer the beasts, and the animals that can hopefully be domesticated become the best choice. .

Cheetah is used for hunting

The domestication of cheetahs has often been recorded in ancient times, and it reached its peak in ancient India. There are records in the Mughal Dynasty. At that time, the nobles kept more than 10,000 cheetahs in captivity, and even built a huge cheetah park for domestication. They proved that cheetahs can be domesticated, and the Indian nobles at that time were proud of domesticating cheetahs for hunting, and it was said that hunting with cheetahs was more efficient than hunting with hounds.

But the problem followed. Although cheetahs can be domesticated, adult cheetahs cannot be domesticated. They need to start from the cub period, while artificially reared cheetahs cannot reproduce. Scientific research has found that the estrus period of cheetahs is very short and requires It takes a long and wide range of chases and play to mate. Of course, the breeders in ancient India obviously did not know this. They were distressed that cheetahs could not reproduce, so they needed to capture a large number of cheetah cubs, which directly led to the extinction of the Asian cheetah.

To this day, people in some regions are still very obsessed with domesticating cheetahs.

Third place: Grey Wolf.

Gray wolves were once the biggest enemy of mankind. They lived in groups around mankind, posing a great threat to both human beings and livestock. Although they are not as frightening as tigers and leopards, they are more difficult to guard against. , the ancient humans are more eager to study the gray wolf.

More than 7,000 years ago, ancient humans living in southern China (not our direct ancestors, this species has become extinct, and then the African species migrated) began the work of domesticating gray wolves, coexisting with humans for a long time. Under these circumstances, these gray wolves gradually became accustomed to being raised by humans, and parted ways with their wild gray wolves of their own clan.

Today, the descendants of these gray wolves have formed a wide variety of domestic dogs. Some of them are small and cute, some are mighty and tall, some are clever and smart, but without exception, they are all kind to people, but they are enemies of wolves. They are domesticated by humans. The most successful and only successful beast.

Today's human beings are more dominant, and other animals in nature need to look up to them. I hope that human beings can control their desires, protect them more, and let all things in nature coexist harmoniously!