Thomas Jung, an employee of the Government of Yukon, recorded a video which caught the attention of many and stunned many animal lovers.
Namely, this man, who is a researcher, spotted a Canada Lynx, also known as Lynx canadensis, which is a species of lynx native to North America, including Canada and parts of the United States. These animals have typical light brownish-grey fur coat, although there are those with black fur, but until Jung took a video of one, there was no footage showing a black lynx.
The video was taken in 2022 and spread like a wildfire. The Mammalia magazine even published an article titled “Paint it black: first record of melanism in Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis).”
The rare lynx was spotted in a rural residential area near the town of Whitehorse, Yukon, at a distance of about 50 meters. It was running around until it heard a dog barking and decided to leave.
The Canada Lynx is a solitary and secretive animal.
”It had a black coat containing whitish gray guard hairs throughout, as well as whitish gray hairs in the facial ruff and the rostrum and dorsal regions,” Jung reported and said the grainy video prevented them noticing too many distinctive features.
During the summer time, these animals’ silvery gray coats turn into reddish brown.
According to Jung, these variations are often adaptations that can be of evolutionary benefit (adaptive) or come as a disadvantage (maladaptive). He believes that in the case of the black Canadian lynx this is maladaptive because of the camouflage. It means hat during winter time, when there is snow out there, their distinctive black fur would stand out.
You can take a look at the footage of this rare and stunning animal below.
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