Scientists Named Top 5 Animals That Can Be Kept As New Pets

Have you consider some exotic animals as new pets? The scientists from the Wageningen University have named top five animals that are suitable as your new pets. Among these animals are the Agile Wallaby, Sika Deer, Llama, Tamar Wallaby and the Asian Palm Civet.

The Agile Wallaby. #wildlifewednesday via Glen Fergus // https://t.co/S08UWeiqAr pic.twitter.com/XDJoDIUqYw

— girlstart (@girlstart) April 27, 2016

Fantastic Biodiversity Week shot of a Sika Deer in Killarney National Park by Breda Canty! pic.twitter.com/qmridfUt1d — Irish Enviro Network (@IrishEnvNet) June 27, 2016

The study was printed in frontiers in Veterinary Science. It was authored by Dr. Paul Koene from Wageningen University and Research Center in Netherlands and other colleagues, according to Science Daily.

The researchers examine the suitability of mammals to be kept domestically. They conducted a web-based survey to know which animals were most often kept as pets in Netherlands. There were 90 most common species chosen. They are categorized as "production animals," which include the guinea pigs rabbits and hamsters.

The study assessed the behaviors of the animals. The animals with high scores had high behavioral needs and high health, welfare and human relationship risks. There were three teams to create the final suitability rank order. The first team chose the one-line statements for each animal and the second team examined the strength of one-line statements about health, behavior, welfare and human-animal relationship both in captivity and the wild. On the other hand, the third team examined the suitability based on all assessed strengths for that animal to be a pet.

Dr. Koene explained that a team is now completing the full list, examining the other 270 mammals. They are also looking at how to recognize the suitability of birds and reptiles in future. On the other hand, Dr. Koene said that Agile wallabies cannot replace the dogs and cats in man's affection.

A wallaby belongs to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos. They can be spotted in New Guinea and Australia. It is also referred to as macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo.

Sika deer is also called spotted deer or Japanese deer. It is native to much of East Asia and previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russian Far East in the north. It is mostly found in Japan.

The llama is a very social animal and a domesticated South American camelid. They are widely used as a meat and pack animal by the Andean cultures. They are many llamas now in the United States and Canada.

The Asian palm civet is also referred to as toddy cat. It belongs to the family of Viverridae native to South and Southeast Asia. These creatures are native to Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, China, Myammar, Nepal, Cambodia, Sabah, Brunei and other Asian countries.