Domesticated silver fox

Do you know what a fox is? It's a cute animal that looks like a mix between a dog and a cat, and it has pointy ears and a fluffy tail. Wild foxes usually live in the forest and they hunt for their food, just like a lion in Africa hunts for food.

But some scientists in Russia did something really cool! They wanted to study foxes better to learn more about how animals become domesticated. Domesticated means an animal that has been trained or bred to be a pet and live with humans.

So these scientists picked some cute little baby foxes and made them live with humans. They gave them names and played with them and fed them yummy food. Over time, the baby foxes grew up to be friendly and not afraid of humans, just like a pet dog or cat.

The scientists kept doing this for generations and generations of foxes. Each time, they picked the friendliest and most comfortable foxes and let them have babies. The babies were even friendlier than their parents! So the scientists kept doing this for many many years.

Now, they have a special kind of fox, called the domesticated silver fox. These foxes look a little different than wild foxes. They are smaller and have bigger ears, and their fur is silver instead of orange. They are very friendly and like being near people.

Isn't that cool? Scientists turned wild foxes into cute and friendly pets that can live with humans just like dogs and cats.