Archaeological evidence suggests ancient human societies in South America revered foxes to such an extent that they were buried next to them.
Scientists were surprised to find a fox buried in a human grave dating back 1,500 years in Patagonia, Argentina.
They think the most likely explanation is that the fox was a highly valued companion or pet.
DNA analysis shows the animal dined with prehistoric hunter gatherers and was part of the inner circle of the camp.
AND it seems that cultures either domesticated cats or ferrets for the same purpose: pest rodent maintenance.
I find it not surprising, but really interesting, that some of the animals that have become the most common pets in the West had competition; and that it may have taken only some relatively small events and it could be raining foxes and ferrets instead of cats and dogs.
And that world would be much cooler.
imagine how messed up a fox would be after hundreds of thousands of years of selective breeding.
Ferrets would of course still be cool AF because cats still are.
They’d have to focus on getting rid of their smell… that’s probably why foxes didn’t win the dog/fox pet battle. They smell very strongly.
https://helpfulhyena.com/what-do-foxes-smell-like/
But agreed on ferrets/cats :)