TED-Ed ‘Cats’

The history of the world according to cats

On May 27th, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank in a fierce firefight,
leaving only 118 of her  2,200 crew members alive.
But when a British destroyer came to collect the prisoners,
they found an unexpected survivor

– a black and white cat clinging to a floating plank.
For the next several months this cat hunted rats and raised British morale
until a sudden torpedo strike shattered the hull and sank the ship.

But, miraculously, not the cat.
Nicknamed Unsinkable Sam,
he rode to Gibraltar with the rescued crew
and served as a ship cat on three more vessels
one of which also sank – before retiring to the Belfast Home for Sailors.

Many may not think of cats as serviceable sailors,
or cooperative companions of any kind.
But cats have been working
alongside humans for thousands of years
helping us just as often as we help them.

So how did these solitary creatures
go from wild predator to naval officer
to sofa sidekick?

The domestication of the modern house cat
can be traced back to more than
10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent,
at the start of the Neolithic era.

People were learning to bend nature

to their will,

producing much more food than

farmers could eat at one time.

These Neolithic farmers stored their excess

grain in large pits and short, clay silos.

But these stores of food attracted

hordes of rodents,

as well as their predator,

Felis silvestris lybica –

the wildcat found across North Africa

and Southwest Asia.

These wildcats were fast, fierce,

carnivorous hunters.

And they were remarkably similar in size

and appearance to today’s domestic cats.

The main differences being that ancient

wildcats were more muscular,

had striped coats, and were less social

towards other cats and humans.

The abundance of prey in rodent-infested 

granaries

drew in these typically solitary animals. 

And as the wildcats learned to tolerate the 

presence of humans

and other cats during mealtime,

we think that farmers likewise tolerated

the cats in exchange for free pest control.

The relationship was so beneficial that

the cats migrated with Neolithic farmers

from Anatolia into Europe

and the Mediterranean.

Vermin were a major

scourge of the seven seas.

They ate provisions and

gnawed at lines of rope,

so cats had long since become

essential sailing companions.

Around the same time these Anatolian

globe trotting cats set sail,

the Egyptians domesticated 

their own local cats.

Revered for their ability to dispatch

venomous snakes, catch birds, and kill rats,

domestic cats became important

to Egyptian religious culture.

They gained immortality in frescos,

hieroglyphs, statues, and even tombs,

mummified alongside their owners.

Egyptian ship cats cruised the Nile,

holding poisonous river snakes at bay. 

And after graduating to larger vessels,

they too began to migrate

from port to port.

During the time of the Roman Empire,

ships traveling between India and Egypt

carried the lineage of the

central Asian wildcat F. s. ornata.

Centuries later, in the Middle Ages, 

Egyptian cats voyaged up to the Baltic Sea

on the ships of Viking seafarers.

And both the Near Eastern 

and North African wildcats

– probably tamed at this point — 

continued to travel across Europe,

eventually setting sail for

Australia and the Americas.

Today, most house cats have descended

from either the Near Eastern

or the Egyptian lineage of F.s.lybica.

But close analysis of the genomes and

coat patterns of modern cats

tells us that unlike dogs,

which have undergone 

centuries of selective breeding,

modern cats are genetically

very similar to ancient cats.

And apart from making them

more social and docile,

we’ve done little to alter

their natural behaviors.

In other words, cats today are more or

less as they’ve always been: Wild animals.

Fierce hunters. Creatures that don’t

see us as their keepers.

And given our long history together,

they might not be wrong.

TED-Ed ‘Cats’

The history of the world according to cats

On May 27th, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank in a fierce firefight,

leaving only 118 of her 2,200 crew members alive.

But when a British destroyer came to collect the prisoners,

they found an unexpected survivor a black and white cat clinging to a floating plank.

For the next several months this cat hunted rats and raised British morale –

until a sudden torpedo strike shattered the hull and sank the ship.

*torpedo strike：魚雷攻撃

*shattered：粉砕

*hull：船体

But, miraculously, not the cat.

Nicknamed Unsinkable Sam,

he rode to Gibraltar with the rescued crew

*rode to：→ride to

and served as a ship cat on three more vessels –

*served：仕える

*vessels：船

one of which also sank – before retiring to the Belfast Home for Sailors.

*Sailors：船乗り

Many may not think of cats as serviceable

sailors,

*serviceable：役に立つ

or cooperative companions of any kind.

*companions：仲間

But cats have been working alongside humans for thousands of years – 

*alongside：そばで

helping us just as often as we help them.

*we help them：互いに助け合う

So how did these solitary creatures go from wild predator to naval officer

*solitary：孤独を好む

*wild predator：野生の捕食者

*naval officer：海軍士官

to sofa sidekick?

*sidekick：相棒

The domestication of the modern house cat

can be traced back to more than 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent,

at the start of the Neolithic era.

People were learning to bend nature to their will,

producing much more food than farmers could eat at one time.

These Neolithic farmers stored their excess grain in large pits and short, clay silos.

But these stores of food attracted hordes of rodents,

as well as their predator, Felis silvestris lybica –

the wildcat found across North Africa and Southwest Asia.

These wildcats were fast, fierce, carnivorous hunters.

And they were remarkably similar in size and appearance to today’s domestic cats.

The main differences being that ancient wildcats were more muscular,

had striped coats, and were less social towards other cats and humans.

The abundance of prey in rodent-infested granaries

drew in these typically solitary animals. 

And as the wildcats learned to tolerate the presence of humans

and other cats during mealtime,

we think that farmers likewise tolerated the cats in exchange for free pest control.

The relationship was so beneficial that the cats migrated with Neolithic farmers

from Anatolia into Europe and the Mediterranean.

Vermin were a major scourge of the seven seas.

They ate provisions and gnawed at lines of rope,

so cats had long since become essential sailing companions.

Around the same time these Anatolian globe trotting cats set sail,

the Egyptians domesticated their own local cats.

Revered for their ability to dispatch venomous snakes, catch birds, and kill rats,

domestic cats became important to Egyptian religious culture.

They gained immortality in frescos, hieroglyphs, statues, and even tombs,

mummified alongside their owners.

Egyptian ship cats cruised the Nile,

holding poisonous river snakes at bay. 

And after graduating to larger vessels,

they too began to migrate from port to port.

During the time of the Roman Empire, ships traveling between India and Egypt

carried the lineage of the central Asian wildcat F. s. ornata.

Centuries later, in the Middle Ages,  Egyptian cats voyaged up to the Baltic Sea

on the ships of Viking seafarers.

And both the Near Eastern  and North African wildcats

– probably tamed at this point — continued to travel across Europe,

eventually setting sail for Australia and the Americas.

Today, most house cats have descended

from either the Near Eastern or the Egyptian lineage of F.s.lybica.

But close analysis of the genomes and coat patterns of modern cats

tells us that unlike dogs,

which have undergone centuries of selective breeding,

modern cats are genetically very similar to ancient cats.

And apart from making them more social and docile,

we’ve done little to alter their natural behaviors.

In other words, cats today are more or less as they’ve always been: Wild animals.

Fierce hunters. Creatures that don’t see us as their keepers.

And given our long history together, they might not be wrong.