Scientists have discovered the first wolf-dog hybrid in Greece

This is reported by the conservation organisation Callisto, which monitors large carnivores. As noted by experts, the hybrid was found in the north of the country, near the city of Thessaloniki.

"This is the first case confirmed genetically in Greece," said the organisation's biologist Emilia Ioakimeidou, speaking at a conference in Athens.

According to DNA results, the animal turned out to be 45 per cent wolf and 55 per cent dog.

The hybrid was identified during an extensive study of 50 wolf samples collected from mainland Greece. Earlier cases of such animals were recorded in Europe, Central Asia and the United States, but most often it was only a matter of external similarity. Modern genetic tests show that true hybrids are much rarer than previously thought.

The wolf population in Greece has been on the rise in recent years. This is due to a hunting ban introduced back in 1983 as part of the Berne Convention. According to a six-year Callisto study recently completed, the country's wolf population stands at around 2,075. At least three packs, totalling at least 31 wolves, have been recorded in the Parnita mountain range near Athens.

The organisation is currently searching for a young wolf that bit a five-year-old Serbian girl in the resort village of Neos Marmaras on the Halkidiki peninsula on 12 September.