AHC: Domesticated Alligators/Crocodiles

Dathi THorfinnsson

To expand on what someone else said, almost all domesticated animals had a herd/pack social structure that humans could hijack.

Pretty much the only exception is cats, and theres some dispute who domesticated whom there:)

So, no, domesticated crocidilians arent going to work.
 

cortz#9

Dathi THorfinnsson said:
To expand on what someone else said, almost all domesticated animals had a herd/pack social structure that humans could hijack.

Pretty much the only exception is cats, and theres some dispute who domesticated whom there:)

So, no, domesticated crocidilians arent going to work.
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I disagree with a strong knowledge of genetics and a total lack of scruples anything is possible! :D
 

Basileus Giorgios

It's a shame, but, no. A crocodile's brain is limited enough so that the animal will consider anything of the right size swimming in water as potential prey- that's probably not the best attribute for a domestic animal of any kind! :p
 

GrizzlyTrotsky

Going to have to disagree with the assumption that cats are not social; cats are increasingly less and more social depending on the availability of food. That's why you find cat colonies in a lot of locations around the world, mostly where there's an abundant source of food. Not quite as hierarchical as dogs or the like, obviously, but still...

Also, at least in cats we socialize them by functionally keeping them in "kittenhood" their entire life. I don't think that alligators or crocodiles have an equivalent early stage in life that can be extended via domestication.
 

cortz#9

In ‘’Jurassic Park’’ they talked about genetically engineering miniature Dinosaurs to sell as pets. Would it be possible to do this with Gators or Crocs? Something small enough to fit in a terrarium. Would this be a bad or good idea?


I know I made a joke about genetics earlier but I’m not trying to be funny this time. Not that I was funny the first time.
 

Lord Grattan

cortz#9 said:
In ‘’Jurassic Park’’ they talked about genetically engineering miniature Dinosaurs to sell as pets. Would it be possible to do this with Gators or Crocs? Something small enough to fit in a terrarium. Would this be a bad or good idea?
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Now your taking this into "plausible but ASBish" waters. Regardless, even in miniature, they'd still be deangerous, much like any pretty piranha in a fish tank is.
 

Sven

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned alligator skin. Alligators are not domesticated in OTL, but they are farmed for their "leather" (see the Wiki page).

Unfortunately, this is a niche market, which means the long-term viability and usefulness of the domestication is suspect.
 

Sven

Alternate History Geek said:
Couldn't you raise them for auxiliaries in battle, as the OP suggested?
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"Beast warfare" simply isn't very effective. In OTL, the horse was really the only animal that had a major and lasting impact on warfare (elephants kind of did too, but their influence was largely regional).

Animals are just too easy to counter on a battlefield: their battle tactics are pretty simplistic, and they generally aren't keen on participating in battles, anyway. So, they make poor soldiers.
 
oshron

oshron

Sven said:
"Beast warfare" simply isn't very effective. In OTL, the horse was really the only animal that had a major and lasting impact on warfare (elephants kind of did too, but their influence was largely regional).

Animals are just too easy to counter on a battlefield: their battle tactics are pretty simplistic, and they generally aren't keen on participating in battles, anyway. So, they make poor soldiers.
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the exceptions, of course, being the aforementioned mount animals and dogs
 

Sven

oshron said:
the exceptions, of course, being the aforementioned mount animals and dogs
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I guess I overlooked war dogs. They must have been effective, or they wouldn't have had much longevity in warfare. But, I've always thought of them as kind of marginal in importance.

Perhaps I was overshooting the mark a bit: the issue isn't whether war animals could or couldn't be effective, it's whether war alone is enough reason to domesticate an animal. Basically, if war was the only thing dogs could be used for, would dogs have been domesticated? Maybe that's where my skepticism lies.
 
oshron

oshron

Sven said:
I guess I overlooked war dogs. They must have been effective, or they wouldn't have had much longevity in warfare. But, I've always thought of them as kind of marginal in importance.

Perhaps I was overshooting the mark a bit: the issue isn't whether war animals could or couldn't be effective, it's whether war alone is enough reason to domesticate an animal. Basically, if war was the only thing dogs could be used for, would dogs have been domesticated? Maybe that's where my skepticism lies.
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dogs were used in WW1 because their heightened hearing could detect approaching artillery shells much sooner than humans, not to mention anti-tank dogs used by the soviets. but you raise a good point, and crocodiles can't really realistically be used in warfare
 
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