NatureScot Commissioned Report 356: The Scottish wildcat: A comparison of genetic and pelage characteristics
The Scottish wildcat is endangered and needs protection. However, protecting this elusive creature is problematic because it is so difficult to clearly distinguish it from domestic cats.
Recently, there have been advances in identifying the Scottish wildcat through genetic analysis and pelage – or fur – characteristics. This report correlates data from both identification methods in the first effective comparison of these approaches.
Only around 13% of pelage samples were classified as wildcat, meaning that the total sample was mostly made up of either hybrids or domestic cats. Genetic analysis confirmed that wildcat specimens were classified into the correct genetic cluster based on their pelage classification. The results of mitochondrial DNA testing were inconclusive but suggest that the population of the sample was mainly hybrid.
This important study confirms that the strict pelage classification method is sufficiently accurate to distinguish wildcats from domestic cats.
Pages: 70
Published: 2010
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