Black mutant wolves were found in Poland (1 photo + 1 video)
Two rare black wolves were spotted in a forest in Poland. The predators were crossing a stream. 
Two rare black wolves were spotted in a Polish forest. This unusual sighting was made possible by a camera installed by the coordinator of the Polish Foundation for the Protection of Wildlife SAVE Wildlife, Joanna Toczydlowska, which was originally intended for studying beavers. After seeing the wolves in the footage, the researcher decided to leave the camera and continue observing.
One of the videos shows a black and a gray wolves slowly crossing a forest stream before they come to the shore. In another video, two black wolves, accompanied by a gray relative, also cross the same stream. The discovery sparked interest and prompted researchers to study the animals’ genetic makeup by collecting samples from their droppings.
“This is something new and unusual,” Toczydlowska noted. There are between 2,500 and 3,000 wolves in Poland, most of which are gray with red or black tinges. The black fur of wolves is thought to be the result of a rare genetic mutation that occurred in domesticated dogs thousands of years ago. In Europe, dark-colored wolves are rare due to limited genetic diversity. By comparison, black wolves make up at least half of the population in Yellowstone National Park in the United States.
According to Toczydlowska’s calculations, both black wolves weighed about 30 kilograms, which is the same as an adult German Shepherd. The conservation organization, which has been studying the wolf population in Poland for 13 years, does not disclose the location of the forest in order to protect wolves from poaching and to prevent the spread of false information about these animals.
It should be noted that by the 1950s, wolves had almost disappeared from Poland, but in recent decades their population has recovered, especially in the central part of the country. Joanna Toczydlowska and her team are actively working to educate the population on safe methods of coexistence with wolf packs.
"For people, this is a new phenomenon. This study should provide more information about the black fur mutation and help in further efforts to protect rare representatives of the wolf population," explains the head of the wolf monitoring project, Roman Gula.
