PubMed · 1999 · 15 citations · 0 references
Life SciencesNeuroscienceZoologyAnimal WelfareBehavioral EcologyMammalogyDomesticationMammalian AdaptationsMammalian ConservationAnimal DomesticationBrain Weight AssessmentDomestication EvolutionDomestication Of Wild SpeciesPig Domestication
Domestication leads to the reduction of brain weight, decreases reach from 8.1% in laboratory rats up to 33.6% in domesticated pigs. The question is: Do brain weights increase by feralization? We compared the brain weights of domesticated mammals (cat, dog, pig, goat, ass) with their feral forms. In none of the cases studied, brain weight is increased in wild domestic mammals. So, feral mammals do not return back to the status of their wild species.