Domesticated foxes

[sholio]

I'd read about this before, but never thought to look them up on Youtube. Basically, a Russian researcher deliberately bred silver foxes for tameness (so they would be easier to harvest for fur). What he discovered, unexpectedly, is that as the foxes grew more tame, they also started to exhibit a whole bunch of dog characteristics along with the tameness -- floppy ears, spotted coats, barking, wagging, and generally acting like dogs.

And the video of them ... my first reaction was OH GOD FREAKY, because they have fox bodies and fox tails, but they move just like dogs, with the wagging and bouncing. And my second reaction was SO CUTE! WANT!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enrLSfxTqZ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzTcmE-pMLU

(ETA: Apparently they do sell them as pets. Now I really want one!)

Comments

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

I don't see the competitiveness/dominance/need-to-be-center-stage of the ESTP as being Sheppard traits at all, though. He's pretty clearly not a guy who cares about winning -- doesn't mind being bested by Teyla and Ronon at physical activity, or McKay at mental stuff -- and doesn't want to be in charge (First Strike). Most of his leisure activities that we've seen in the show (reading, surfing, sudoku, jogging) are solitary things, and he claimed to be content flying helicopters in Antarctica, about as solitary and non-competitive as you can get. I'll certainly concede that he's more focused on the phsyical world than what's going on his head, but he's not in any way a *social* extrovert.