breed

Chance plays a huge role in a breed going viral, he said, but it helps to have some inherent appeal.

Curiously, leopard cats have recently been crossed with domestic cats to produce Bengal cats, which were recognised as a new breed in the 1980s.

“She’s almost 14,” he said, and that’s well beyond the average lifespan for her breed.

But because eels cannot be bred in captivity, much of the trade is in wild-caught baby eels, with one species virtually indistinguishable from another.

Because these lentils have been shaped for centuries to thrive in hot, dry conditions, they could become an important resource for breeding crops that can cope with ongoing climate change.