Which statement best differentiates taming from domestication?

• A. Taming is a conditioned behavioral modification of a wild-born animal when its natural avoidance of humans is reduced and it accepts the presence of humans, but domestication is the permanent genetic modification of a bred lineage toward humans
• B. Taming is permanent genetic modification; domestication is training
• C. They are the same process with different names
• D. Taming results in permanent, inherited changes in domesticated populations

Answer: (A)

The essential distinction is where the change happens. Taming is a behavior change in a single wild-born animal that becomes comfortable around humans and accepts their presence through conditioning; its genes aren’t altered, so the change isn’t inherited by its offspring. Domestication, on the other hand, is a genetic shift that occurs across generations within a bred population, as humans selectively propagate traits that make animals more manageable or useful. Over many generations, these inherited traits become permanent in the lineage. That’s why the statement that taming is a conditioned behavioral modification in an individual while domestication is a permanent genetic modification in a bred lineage best captures the difference.