Two rare black wolves, likely siblings around one year old, were spotted crossing a stream in a Polish forest, as reported by Fakt. The sighting was captured by a wildlife camera set up by Joanna Toczydłowska, the project coordinator of the SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Poland.
"The footage is very unusual," Toczydłowska said, according to The Associated Press. In a video clip, a black wolf and a gray wolf are seen slowly crossing a stream in the forest, with water nearly up to their bellies before they jump to the shore.
Most of the 2,500 to 3,000 wolves in Poland are gray, with some having red or black accents, blue News noted. The black coat of these wolves is the result of a genetic mutation that probably occurred thousands of years ago in domesticated dogs. This dark coat is rare in Europe due to lower genetic diversity among wolf populations, Tages-Anzeiger reported.
"The black coloration is definitely rare and exceptional," representatives of the SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund said.
The black wolves filmed are probably siblings and around one year old, weighing around 30 kilograms (66 lbs)—similar to the size of a German Shepherd dog, as reported by Tages-Anzeiger. At least one of the black wolves is male.
Toczydłowska initially wanted to observe beavers with her camera but, after noticing wolves instead, she kept the camera there to continue studying the rare species and collected footage of black wolves a few weeks ago.
The SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund is collecting feces in the forest to conduct genetic tests and learn more about the black-fur mutation in the wolves. The organization has requested financial assistance for this genetic testing.
Wolves usually travel in family packs, and the presence of the two black wolves alongside a gray wolf suggests a familial relationship. Wolves were virtually extinct in Poland in the 1950s, but populations were reintroduced in recent years, especially in the central part of the country since the early 2000s.
The SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund has been monitoring wolves in Poland for the past 13 years and does not disclose the exact location of the camera to protect the wolves from poachers and illegal hunting.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.