Can we also tamper with the genes to make it friendly and cuddly? There is a bigger market for pets than zoos.
Mammals tend to become aggressive around puberty, so there should be a way to tamper with his endocrine system to impede maturity and mental development. Humankind has done horrible genetic experiments with wolves, why not start with big cats?
Some people keep pumas as pets.
Already done. We call such things "housecats". Want a cuddly wolf? They are called "newfoundlands". The genetic differences between wild killer and cuddly friend are insignificant.
But the optic differences between wolf and newfoundlands and cats and sabre tooth are quite significant.
People keep actual wolves and wolf hybrids as pets. I've met them before and they're a bit different than other dogs who can be like needy children. A wolf can have a personality that's cool, but the risk is great for random wolves or a wolf in a family with children.
PS: Huskies are just wolves with the gene for extra drama. ;)
> PS: Huskies are just wolves with the gene for extra drama. ;)
And singing. They love to sing along.
While there are wolf traits that are different than the average dog, such differences in behavior pale in comparison to differences between dog breeds. The behavioral difference between a typical husky, newfie or havenese are far greater than between wolf and a generic "average" dog of similar size/body.
While it's doubtlessly not very safe and probably unethical, a lot of people keep tigers as pets and they usually don't get eaten. If you gave a sabre tooth kitten to somebody experienced with raising large cats, my bet is they could do it without getting eaten. Probably. Despite the risk I bet you'd have no shortage of volunteers willing to try.
Unethical if done intentionally, only ethical if it's a rescue situation that cannot be otherwise avoided, everyone gets along well, and the particular cat isn't an absurdly-large lion or tiger.