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xchrom

(108,903 posts)
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 09:44 AM Sep 2012

Scottish wildcat extinct within months, association says

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-19569538


Scottish wildcats were thought to number about 400

Scottish wildcats will be extinct in the wild within months as numbers of pure-bred cats have fallen to about 35 individuals, conservationists warn.

A team put together by the Scottish Wildcat Association (SWA) reviewed 2,000 records of camera trap sightings, eyewitness reports and also road kills.

SWA said the analysis suggested there could be 35 wildcats - far fewer than previously thought.
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Scottish wildcat extinct within months, association says (Original Post) xchrom Sep 2012 OP
True wild cats? Or Roman imports evolved to chilly conditions? TheMadMonk Sep 2012 #1
 

TheMadMonk

(6,187 posts)
1. True wild cats? Or Roman imports evolved to chilly conditions?
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 02:16 PM
Sep 2012

And while it's sad, in the greater scheme of things, it's not a great loss to global genetic diversity.

And given the sheer variety of domestic breeds, it would be no great task to put a cladistically indistinguishable copy together any time we chose to do so.


Unfortunately we've let things become so bad, that we're going to have to make some fairly harsh choices. Like it or lump it, we're going to have to triage. Megafauna that can't adapt to captivity are probably doomed. Likelihood of success needs to come ahead of "sexiness" of The Cause. Just what percentage of a well populated genus is it worth to save the last few surviving members of another?

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