Purebred Scottish wildcats no longer exist. Genetic analysis has revealed that each member of this population today has 17–74% of genes obtained through hybridization with domestic breeds, reports Science.
Such mixing had hardly occurred for over two thousand years. But in the mid-20th century, active hybridization was spurred by the decline in the population of wildcats, habitat destruction, and the spread of infectious diseases.
People began keeping domestic cats about 10,000 years ago. These fluffy mousers are descended from the wildcat species F. lybica, which is widespread across vast plains in Southern Africa, the Middle East, and China.
Gradually, domestic cats began to interbreed more frequently with their wild relatives, and now the wildcats of Europe, Asia Minor, and the Caucasus already have a significant proportion of hybrid genes (up to 21%).
However, hybridization has had the greatest impact on the population of Scottish wildcats, which has also significantly decreased due to deforestation and poaching.
Biologists have found that active interbreeding began in the late 1950s, and soon it led to significant contamination of the wild species.
Similar conclusions were reached by a team of scientists led by Greger Larson from Oxford. Experts emphasize that the disappearance of purebred wildcats is directly related to anthropogenic factors.
Leave a comment