And black lynx has been caught on camera for the first time in history. The images, taken in the city of Whitehorse, in the Yukon, Canadahave been published in a study of the mammalia magazine.
Thomas Jung, a wildlife biologist with the Yukon Government Department of the Environment, was the author of this unpublished record.
From a distance of 50 meters, Jung sighted this Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis), who did not look intimidated despite the presence of people in the surroundings. The investigator took out his cell phone and filmed the scene for 30 seconds.
The event occurred on August 29, 2020, but it took more than two years to document the finding and confirm that it was the first photographic record of a lynx with black fur.
A detrimental adaptation for the lynx
Bobcat fur is typically silver-gray in the winter and reddish-brown in the summer. These changes allow him to blend into the landscape corresponding to the season.
There were records of specimens with albinism (white fur), but none with melanismo (black fur). These two conditions are caused by certain genetic mutations, usually driven by environmental factors.
“The adaptive significance of melanism in the lynx is unknown, but loss of camouflage when hunting during the winter it is probably a poor adaptation,” Jung wrote in his scientific paper.
Due to the short time span of the sighting and the instability of the images, it was not possible to make a detailed analysis of the color of the lynx’s fur. Still, Tung described his own quick observations as a direct witness.
“It had a black coat that contained whitish gray hairs throughout, as well as whitish gray hairs on the facial ruff and rostrum and dorsal regions,” he notes.
Scientists are aware that, in the animal kingdom, the color of fur blending in with the landscape helps stalk prey or sneak away. Meanwhile, bright colors can help attract mates or ward off predators.
One hypothesis of the appearance of melanism is the increased industrial activity and the consequent increase in smog and the dark background in landscapes.
Tung proposes tracking color variations in lynx populations to better understand these adaptation processes.
