Source: University of Exeter
'Swarms' of wolf-dog crossbreeds could drive Europe's wolves out of existence, according to the lead author of new research.
Such hybridisation, driven by human activities that destroy habitats and mean wolves encounter more and more free-roaming dogs, threatens the "genetic identity" of wolves.
An estimated 17,000 wolves live in Europe, in populations of varying sizes in countries as far apart as Spain, Greece and Finland.