Could circa-1600 humans have domesticated or tamed kangaroos?
The article Why Can't All Animals Be Domesticated? on Live Science sets out a list of criteria that a species needs to meet in order to be successfully domesticated by humans. In short, that list states that to be successfully domesticated, they...
- cannot be picky eaters
- must reach maturity quickly relative to the human life span
- must be willing to breed in captivity
- must be docile by nature
- cannot have a strong tendency to panic and flee when startled
- must conform to a social hierarchy dominated by strong leadership
Well, it seems to me that kangaroos meet, or can meet, at least several of those criteria.
Would it be plausible for indigenous Australians to, circa 1600 A.D., domesticate, or at least tame and train, kangaroos? What difficulties would they encounter in attempting to do so?
I imagine keeping the animals for the meat is one use. Another, possibly cooler, use would be to use them as beasts of burden, perhaps as messengers, if they can be trained well enough. If you have other ideas, feel free to explore those as well; just make sure you actually answer the question!
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