perhaps to some people the strangest aspect of the recent outbreak of monkeypox spread by exotic animals was the idea that someone would want to have a gambian rat as a pet but veterinarians pet experts and anthropologists say they have seen far stranger choices even ugly dangerous and distinctly uncuddly creatures like a tarantula or a horned toad can elicit an emotional response from some people we cant help ourselves said dr james a serpell of the university of pennsylvania school of veterinary medicine in philadelphia we respond to a creature and find it rewardingthe trade in wild species which these days covers everything from prairie dogs to wolves big cats and bears is frequently criticised for driving species toward extinction disrupting ecosystems and introducing pathogens hazardous to wildlife livestock and humanshowever the big picture is that we are intimately bound to animals and it is satisfying to take them in and tame them said dr yifu tuan the author of dominance and affection the making of petsbut experts can differ on the reasons for the bond dr tuan points to a psychological motivation subconsciously he said we are a mishmash we dont know who we are and so to simplify things we predicate our individuality on animalshumans attribute specific human qualities to different animals and then use their behaviour to define and gain control of themselves and of the animal he saidother experts point to a sociological explanationfor much of recorded history rulers and other rich and influential people have kept menageries of large exotic animals as a sign of wealth and power said dr harriet n ritvo a professor of history at mit nyt news service