undomesticated

Undomesticated refers to organisms that have not been subject to domestication or artificial selection by humans. Such organisms typically retain traits shaped by natural selection in their native environments, including behavioral repertoires, reproductive strategies, and genetic diversity that have not been narrowed or enhanced by selective breeding. The term is often used in contrast with domesticated species, which exhibit traits favored by humans, such as tameness, rapid growth, or increased yield. In practice, many species exist on a spectrum from fully undomesticated to fully domesticated.

Differences among wild, undomesticated, and feral are nuanced. Wild generally denotes organisms living in natural ecosystems with little or no direct human control. Undomesticated emphasizes that the organism’s lineage has not undergone domestication, which can apply to wild populations or to populations of species that otherwise exist in human-managed contexts but have not been selectively bred. Feral describes domesticated individuals that have escaped human control and established self-sustaining populations in the wild.

Examples of undomesticated organisms include wolves (Canis lupus) and wild boars (Sus scrofa). In plants, undomesticated relatives of crops—such as teosinte, the wild ancestor of maize, or wild beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima)—illustrate undomesticated lineages that remain outside domestication. These organisms are often central to studies in ecology, evolution, and genetics.

Understanding undomesticated organisms sheds light on the domestication process, natural adaptation, and genetic diversity. It informs conservation, sustainable agriculture, and the search for genetic traits that could be reintroduced into domesticated species through breeding.