When we talk about animals being “tame,” it could simply mean that we have decent, neighborly relations, as opposed to fear-filled mutual hostility. And it’s probable that domesticating animals began with simple friendliness, as with the Russian beekeeper whose son said, “He liked bees, and they liked him. He would go to the hives without his shirt. He wasn’t afraid.ˮ
War and Peace with the Beasts: A History of Our Relationships with Animals