Pet and farm animal facts for kids: 4 animals to research

Dogs, cats, horses and rabbits are the animals children meet first, and each has a wild story behind it. Dogs were domesticated from grey wolves at least 15,000 years ago, before farming existed, and have since been bred into more than 350 recognised breeds. Cats more or less tamed themselves around 10,000 years ago, when African wildcats moved into the first grain stores of the Middle East to hunt mice; a house cat still stalks, hears and pounces exactly like its wild ancestor. Horses were domesticated on the steppes of Central Asia roughly 5,500 years ago and changed how people travelled, farmed and fought; a horse can doze standing up thanks to a locking mechanism in its legs. Rabbits were kept by the Romans and farmed in medieval monasteries; a rabbit's front teeth never stop growing, which is why it must chew constantly. These pages cover the biology, behavior and history behind each familiar animal.