Black wolves on our photo traps!

One of our photo traps recorded wolves with a decidedly different coloration than usual. Black!

As if anyone didn’t know, the standard wolf fur in our country is gray with small reddish or black accents. The black creation is definitely rare and unique!

We first recorded the unusual wolf in the summer, when it crossed a floodplain with an individual of standard gray appearance. Some time later, the eye of our camera captured a similar event, but this time the wolves were already three – two black and one gray.
Will this darker coloration remain permanently in the wolf family already, or will it disappear? We’ll be watching!

DNA WILL TELL YOU TRUTH – make a contribution to the research!

We also plan to conduct genetic research from wolf feces, which may provide answers about the origin of the black individuals, but we will not succeed without your support.
If you would like to support our research, we invite you to do so here (choose your goal from the drop-down list) -> https://fundacja-save.pl/en/donation/ And if you or your company would like to fund the whole testing and be included in the scientific publication, please contact us!
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WHY THE BLACK?

But are black wolves something unusual or disturbing? To answer briefly – no.
Wolves with dark coloration appear more or less sporadically in many places around the world. They are common in North America, especially in one of the most famous national parks – Yellowstone.
In Europe, they occur far less frequently, perhaps as a result of reduced genetic diversity resulting from long-term thinning of the wolf population by humans. In Poland, sightings of them are not common and are rarely documented.

And where did black wolves come from?
Such a coloration is the result of a genetic mutation related to the K-locus gene, or more precisely to its version (allele) KB, which causes an overproduction of melanin, the pigment responsible for the dark coloration of the coat.
Interestingly, genetic studies have shown that this variant appeared in wolves most likely through interbreeding with dogs, which occurred several thousand years ago.

WOLVES AND DOGS – CLOSENESS FOR GENERATIONS

Wolves and dogs are genetically very close and could even be considered the same species. They have interbred with each other many times in their history and sometimes continue to interbreed. This is not unusual or harmful, it is simply a normal phenomenon that occurs in nature. For wolves, close relationships with dogs can even be beneficial.

BLACKNESS PAYS OFF

The “blackness gene” obtained from dogs gives wolves greater resistance to one of the dangerous viral diseases – distemper.
This disease, which is believed to have originated in cattle raised by humans, moved to dogs over time. It then entered North America with humans and their pets, where it began to spread in the wild as a result of, among other things, dog-wolf crosses.

According to recent studies, wolves that have the black coat gene show greater resistance to distemper and more of them, compared to gray wolves, survive contracting it.
One might think that in that case all wolves, or at least most of them, should be black, since this black fur gene is so great. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, and – as they say – nothing is free in life!

WILL BLACK REPLACE GRAY?

As we know, we have two versions of each gene – from mom and from dad . In wolves, the gene responsible for darker coloration is pretty cool when paired with the “gray” gene, but when it’s alone with itself (that is, there are two identical copies of it), it’s not so fun anymore.
Wolves having it doubly, called homozygotes, yes, are more resistant to distemper, but that’s their only “super power.” They have paid for their greater immunity with reduced reproduction and generally worse condition.
The result? They produce fewer and weaker offspring, a very high percentage of which die while still in puppyhood.

The black gene, therefore, cannot exist much on its own and must co-evolve with its gray counterpart in order for the wolf population to be healthy and strong. It is therefore unlikely that wolves will permanently change their coloration to dark.

And while black individuals appear to be found in greater numbers in areas where distemper has been or is more prevalent (outbreaks of the disease are seen in Yellowstone every five years or so), they could appear for a while or longer anywhere in the world.

Author: Joanna Toczydłowska