I was sitting here watching the dozens of squirrels around my girlfriend's house here in the city, and could not help but noticing that without the furry tail, a squirrel would essentially look like a rat.
I suspect that we would be a lot less likely to tolerate squirrels crawling up and down our trees if they looked like "vermin" rodents. So, over time one might speculate that "cuter" rodents would tend to enhance those characteristics more acceptable to human beings.
Another potential example of psycho-symbiotic evolution might be the butterfly. Humans tend to detest most insects and enthusiastically work to eradicate them. The butterfly is a rare exception.
Of course these "attractive to human" characteristics were originally evolved for purely practical purposes (tails for stability, coloration for attracting mates, etc., etc.) My question is whether over time certain species are prolferating and/or evolving human-tolerable appearances or behaviors in order to better share human environments.
I suspect that we would be a lot less likely to tolerate squirrels crawling up and down our trees if they looked like "vermin" rodents. So, over time one might speculate that "cuter" rodents would tend to enhance those characteristics more acceptable to human beings.
Another potential example of psycho-symbiotic evolution might be the butterfly. Humans tend to detest most insects and enthusiastically work to eradicate them. The butterfly is a rare exception.
Of course these "attractive to human" characteristics were originally evolved for purely practical purposes (tails for stability, coloration for attracting mates, etc., etc.) My question is whether over time certain species are prolferating and/or evolving human-tolerable appearances or behaviors in order to better share human environments.