Taming requirements in the domestication process of donkeys: The methods and concepts of the training among the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia

Rikako Kimura,Samuel Tefera

doi:10.1186/s13570-018-0126-4

Abstract

To clarify the system involved in the initial domestication of asses, this study explores breaking and the consequent establishment of tameness through focusing on a human ecological approach based on reports of the epigenetic inheritance of human-induced stress in animals. The research subjects are Afar pastoralists who use donkeys for packing loads in two areas (A and B) in the Afar Regional State of Ethiopia; both areas are home to an endangered species of wild ass. Interviews were conducted on the methods of wild ass capture that caused initial human-induced stress. Next, the method currently adopted for breaking donkeys for packing which the Afar pastoralists considered to promote tameness was investigated. The number of informants from Community (A) who answered in the negative to the possibility of capturing wild asses for domestication was significantly greater than those who replied in the positive. However, four suggestions were made for capturing wild asses for domestication. In both areas, the target age for breaking the donkeys for packing was 1 to 3 years inclusively. Differences, however, were seen between Afar communities with regard to whether training for packing should happen in a series of processes and with regard to the number of days needed for the process. The training methods characteristically used in both areas includes forelimbs tying, jaw tying, and ears tying. A combination of these methods was observed to be a neuro-physiologically effective approach, promoting obedience while controlling stress; stress caused by jaw and forelimbs tying was nullified by ears tying, which produced an analgesic effect. Therefore, for domestication during the ancient period and maintaining the tame status of donkeys, the age for training for packing and controlling stress by tying the forelimbs, jaws, and ears might have been the effective techniques in taming the animal through epigenetic mutations.

Highlights

IntroductionGenetic analysis (mtDNA) has proved that the currently existent donkey was domesticated by ca. 3500 BCE mainly from the Nubian wild ass (Equus africanus africanus), a subspecies of the African wild ass (endangered species CR, Red list)
Genetic analysis has proved that the currently existent donkey was domesticated by ca. 3500 BCE mainly from the Nubian wild ass (Equus africanus africanus), a subspecies of the African wild ass
Domestication is defined as animals whose reproduction is under human control (Herre and Rohrs 1973), and especially for draft and mount animals, acquisition of tameness to humans is of importance as great as that of Kimura and Tefera Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2018) 8:18 reproduction control

Summary

Introduction

Genetic analysis (mtDNA) has proved that the currently existent donkey was domesticated by ca. 3500 BCE mainly from the Nubian wild ass (Equus africanus africanus), a subspecies of the African wild ass (endangered species CR, Red list). Through reproduction control by means of individual selection, it is possible to produce individual animals that are obedient to some degree in terms of temperament (Belyaev et al 1985), and in reality, most of domesticated animals are obedient compared to wild species (Herre and Rohrs 1973). Approximately 5000 years later, initial taming of domestic Equus, including donkeys and horses, is still being carried out. For this reason, it can be assumed that it is difficult to achieve complete tameness (obedience) through breeding and reproduction only and that the involvement of epigenetic control by means of training actions that cause stress is necessary

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Conclusion