TRADITIONAL conservation efforts to protect the Scottish wildcat and Australian dingo may be misguided. The two have been interbreeding with their domestic cat and dog relatives for so long it no longer makes sense to preserve them as separate pure-bred animals, say two researchers. Instead, wildcats and dingoes should only be protected if they play an important role in the local ecosystem or economy.
Domestic cats appeared in Britain at least 2000 years ago and have interbred with their wild relatives ever since. As a result, there are now two groups of wildcats. In one, cats resemble their domesticated cousins.…
