A very rare black lynx is sitting in the meadow – it doesn’t care even if the dog barks. These recordings are special because they are the first known images of such a predator.
Until now, researchers had not been able to film a black lynx. Jung, a lecturer at the University of Alberta in Canada, has now published the video in the journal “Mammalia”. It was made in Yukon, Canada in August 2020. Jung described the peculiarities of the animal in his article.
In general, the lynx has a light brown and white summer coat and a brown winter coat. The fur of this lynx darkens in the middle of summer, with some gray hairs visible. If animals produce the pigment melanin in large quantities, their fur appears black – this process is also scientifically known as melanism. Melanism is in contrast to the more common form of albinism, in which the body does not produce melanin at all. Many animal species have so-called blacklings as well as albinos – for example in foxes, wolves, zebras or snakes.
Canadian Lynx live mainly in Canada and Alaska. In winter, their brown coloration helps them hunt prey in the snow. Their main prey includes arctic rabbits. This lynx can be difficult to hunt in winter due to its coloration. Maybe that’s one reason he’s around people.
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