Science reveals cats are better than dogs
The eternal battle between cats and dogs might finally be solved thanks to science.
A new international study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that when you take history and evolution into account cats proved to be the more successful species.
Scientists from Sweden, Brazil, and Switzerland analysed more than 2,000 fossils to work out why many dog species died out. The findings revealed that when prehistoric cats competed with prehistoric dogs, cats were the clear winners. Being the better predators, cats played a part in the extinction of 40 different canine species. However, the reverse wasn’t true and dogs had little impact on the survival of the feline species.
“This suggests that felids [cats] must have been more efficient predators than most of the extinct species in the dog family,” the researchers wrote.
However, since the canine species of today survived those prehistoric cats maybe we can call it a draw? Or we’ll have to wait another few thousand years to see the ultimate winner.