Canada: they capture for the first time a strange black lynx | VIDEO

A strange black lynx was captured a couple of years ago by a biologist in Canada, but recently the images are spreading in the media and social networks.

This is the wildlife biologist of the Department of the Environment of the Government of Yukon, Thomas Jungthe one who found this curious animal.

The images were published in the magazine mammaliawhere you can see how the researcher spotted this Canadian lynx, which was not intimidated despite the presence of people.

At that moment, the scholar took out his cell phone and managed to film the moment for 30 seconds. Although the event occurred on August 29, 2020, it took more than two years to document the finding and, above all, confirm that it was the first record of a black-furred lynx.

However, the news is not so happy, as this change of fur would mean a detrimental adaptation for the species.

The fur of these animals is silver gray in winter and reddish brown in summer, these changes allow them to camouflage themselves in the ecosystem. Although albinism (white fur) has been recorded in the past, melanism (black fur) had not been detected, so they may present genetic mutations driven by environmental factors.

“The adaptive significance of melanism in the lynx is unknown, but the loss of camouflage when hunting during the winter is probably a maladaptation,” the specialist pointed out in his article.