Guess which wild animal was used to be man's pet 1,500 years ago. Hint: Not dogs

Remains of ancient foxes, that were once domesticated, were found buried with their owners at an archaeological site in Argentina. These foxes, called Dusicyon avus, were kept as pets by hunter-gatherers some 1500 years back, in Patagonia, Argentina.

Previously, some studies opined that after the arrival of European dogs, people started disregarding foxes as pets. However, a recent study shows that climate change was the actual reason for their extinction among various other factors, and not the arrival of European dogs.

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The study was conducted in parts of South America by Ophelie Lebrasseur among others, who is a zooarchaeologist at the University of Oxford. During the study, the team also found the remains of afox that had “been deliberately buried alongside the person in the grave,” told Lebrasseur to Live Science.

Lebrasseur is a co-author of the new study, which was led by molecular biologist Cinthia Abbona of Argentina's Institute of Evolution, Historical Ecology and Environment (IDEVEA) in Mendoza.

Proof of people keeping foxes as pets in parts of South America

The remains of a fox buried with a human were found at the Cañada Seca site. Researchers initially thought that the bone specimens were from the Lycalopex genus of South American foxes.

However, upon carrying out precise measurements and DNA analysis, it was later found to be the remains of Dusicyon avus.

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An analysis of the carbon and nitrogen isotopes present in the fox bones indicated that the animal had eaten a plant-rich diet similar to that of the person buried in the grave, said Lebrasseur. Wild foxes were generally habitual of eating more meat, but the fox found inside the grave had been eating whatever the human ate.

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"The most plausible explanation is that this fox was a valuable companion to the hunter-gatherer groups," the authors wrote in the study.

"Its strong bond with human individuals during its life would have been the primary factor for its placement as a grave good after the death of its owners or the people with whom it interacted," they wrote.

Spread of dogs as pets in South America

Dogs (Canis familiaris) first came to the South American continent about 4000 years ago, but by 3000 years ago, their spread seems to have stopped north of Patagonia.

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Due to this, the first evidence of dogs in the region is from the 16th century, when some indigenous societies started breeding dogs of European descent.

It is highly unlikely that the modern dogs of the region could have descended from a mixture of dogs and foxes, as was thought previously.

(With inputs from agencies)