We all need pets, whether they are exotic, wild, or domesticated.

I had always wanted to own an exotic pet, but I had never really decided on which breed or type. Growing up, I noticed that I was a lover of animals, and I said this because I would always look for stray dogs, cats, insects, and so on to take care of. I can vividly remember when I had a spider nest where I gathered different types of spider and I would raise them. They were sometimes when I would be lucky to witness these spiders laying eggs and hatching it was really something very interesting to do. I remembered another time when I was breeding mosquitoes just to understand their life cycle.

My love for these animals was beyond superficial, as I genuinely cared about them. I still wished I had the opportunity to study veterinary medicine or Zoology, but my dad never agreed with that choice of mine, so I had to study something else Science Laboratory technology, and in this course I had being opportune to work in an animal hospital where I got to meet some of the rarest breeds of dogs in Nigeria. This just shows that with enough finances, you can pursue what you desire.

If I were to own an exotic pet, I would start by looking for an animal that had once been bred indoors or used as a pet successfully. I would purchase animals like wolves, Bears, Eagles, and Lions. Let’s start with Wolves as a dog person, I already have the basic experience needed to train a canine species, and although wolves are wild I believe that I would be able to tame the wolves. If I am able to choose the wolf color, I would also select a pure white and a pure black in colour wolves. I have also watched too many werewolf movies; maybe deep down, I want to turn into one.

My second pet would be a bear. I am always curious about their way of life, and I have heard about their different phases, such as their Hibernating phase. Although I don't know how easy it would be for me to domesticate one, I believe that I am up to challenge, as learning new things can be fun.

My third pet would be an eagle, the king of birds. What interests me about them is their flight and hunting skills. I would also want to be able to witness their birth cycle.

Last but not least, there is Lion, and why do I like them? It’s because of their mane, as it looks very huggable and comfortable to sleep on, but do not try this in the wild. I am also interested in their hunting skills, and I love their coordination while attacking their prey. Other exotic animals, such as snakes intrigues me with their beautiful colours, eyes, and scale patterns, and so on.

Will Domesticating these Wild Animals Affect their Evolution?

I believe that the answer is yes, and this is my reason. Firstly, we all know that the wild is survival of the strongest, and only the strong survive. In the wild, you are either the Prey or being preyed upon, and all this has made these animals develop special organs or body parts in order to aid their adaptation and increase their survival rate. Now, it’s not that bad, as domesticating some of these animals would help in preventing the extinction of these animals.

Just imagine it for a minute, if our predecessor had domesticated all the wild animals, we would still have enough extinct species alive today. I personally would have loved to see at least one Dinosaur family.

Our Zoos and wildlife reserves are currently doing their best to preserve these animals, and I must commend them for their Job so far, as this has helped in reducing the extinction rate to some level. So, if I am fortunate enough to own some exotic animals, I would definitely take care of them, but I would need to undergo some training.

Currently, I own a Lhasa Apso Dog, female, and her name is Everest (named after the Mountain), and guess what, I adopted her (she was not bought). I would definitely encourage everyone to own at least one pet, as they have a therapeutic effect and could help relieve stress and depression, while some can just serve as a companion. Just give it a try one day, but do your research on the type of pet you want, as it’s not something you just rush into.