Rare black wolves filmed by researchers in the Polish Forest

Rare black wolves filmed by researchers in the Polish Forest

On Sunday it was announced that in a Polish forest, two rare black wolves, probably siblings, were filmed by a camera when they crossed a stream. This extraordinary event was documented by the Save Wildlife Conservation Fund Poland

The discovery of the black wolves

The unusual sighting was recorded last year by the project coordinator Joanna Toczydłowska, which the camera originally set up for the observation of beavers. When she noticed that the camera filmed wolves instead, she decided to maintain the location and collected the material of the black wolves a few weeks ago.

on the behavior of the wolves

In a clip, a black wolf and a gray wolf slowly cross a stream, whereby the water almost extends to its bellies before jumping onto the shore. A second clip that was recorded last autumn shows two black wolves and a gray wolf that cross the same stream.

genetic peculiarities

The wolves in Poland, about 2,500 to 3,000 in number, are mostly gray with red or black accents. Black fur is created by a genetic mutation that was probably found in domesticated dogs thousands of years ago. Due to the limited genetic diversity, the dark fur in Europe is rare, while in Yellowstone National Park in the USA has at least half of the wolf population black fur.

enigmatic siblings

Since wolves live in families and both black wolves have a weight of around 30 kilograms (66 lbs) - comparable to a German German Shepherd - Toczydłowska estimated that they are siblings that are about one year old. At least one of the two wolves is male.

protection of the wolves

The nature conservation organization has been monitoring the wolf population in Poland for 13 years, but does not reveal the exact location of the forest to protect the wolves from poaching and prevent misinformation about wolves.

The return of the wolves

Wolves in Poland had been almost extinct in the 1950s, but in recent years the population, especially in the central part of the country, has recovered since the early 2000s. Toczydłowska and her team train the public, as you live safely in areas that are inhabited by wolf grooves.

education initiatives and financing needs

"It is a new phenomenon for people," Roman Gula, head of the Wolf surveillance project, told the AP. "Education is one of our most important goals." The nature conservation fund announced the sighting on Facebook last week and asked for financial support for genetic tests of wolf feces to learn more about the black fur mutation.