The Unknowable History of Animal Domestication

We have no idea how the world actually works, and we don't remember anything important about history, like who domesticated the wolf, or how it actually happened.

Scientists try to concoct theories that comport with their notion of a world of random chance and action without agency. For example, the current en vogue theory is that wolves gathered around human settlement garbage piles, and gradually tamed themselves.

YouTube has hundreds of videos of animals being unusually friendly with people. Here's one really good example:

The behavior of the groundhog is completely different than anything I've experienced. That particular groundhog is unique. For some reason it instantly bonded with the woman in the video.

I'm in the yard with wild animals like song birds and the usual northeast Ohio mammals relatively often. Every once in a while, one of the animals will be unusually friendly, but nothing like the groundhog in the video. For example this past summer one of the raccoons would walk right up to me when I was in the yard, but it was still skittish. One of the deer is pretty tolerant of me being out in the yard, but will still run away if I get too close.

There might be no way to explain animal domestication. The domestication of wolves might have happened exactly like the groundhog in the video. It just decided to hang out with people.