What do blondes have in common with the Iberian Lynx? The answer, it seems, is that we are both endangered species. In the case of the lynx, destruction of habitat and myxamatosis among rabbits - its principal food source – are to blame. The demise of blondes, however, will be caused by genetic factors.
Blonde hair is caused by a recessive gene, and to have blonde hair, a child must have the gene on both sides of the family in the grandparents' generation. But according to German researchers, too few people now carry the gene for blondes to last beyond the next two centuries, with the last surviving examples finding refuge in Finland.
However, this claim is refuted by Jonathan Rees, professor of dermatology at the University of Edinburgh, who says that blondes may decline but would disappear only if having the gene was a disadvantage – something that does not appear to be the case. Quite the reverse, in fact. The researchers claim the biggest threat to blondes is peroxide. Dyed blondes, they say, make more attractive partners than true blondes and are chosen in preference to their natural rivals.
As a blonde whose hair colour comes out of her head and not out of a bottle, I beg to suggest that perhaps true blondes have better taste than to settle for men who are so easily fooled.
'Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize,
Nor all that glisters gold!'