Researcher Encounters Unusual Canada Lynx with Abnormal Fur Coloration Due to Melanism in Sparse Residential Area.
Thomas Jung, a researcher at the University of Alberta, captured footage of an unusual animal in Yukon, Canada, using his mobile phone. The 30-second video is the first recorded sighting of a melanistic Canada lynx, Cnet reported on October 18. The new research was published in the journal Mammalia.
Melanistic Canada Lynx was filmed on August 29, 2020, in a rural area near the town of Whitehorse, Yukon, characterized by low housing density and surrounded by forests filled with numerous white spruce trees.
Melanistic Canada Lynx.
Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) is a wild cat known for its distinctive features such as tufted ears, large paws, and fur that is gray or brown. However, the animal in the video exhibited melanism, meaning it had more pigment than usual. In the video, the lynx is seen sitting on a grassy area near a staircase, seemingly unfazed by barking dogs, before wandering off.
Canada lynx typically sport gray fur in winter and brown fur in summer, with such variations being rare. The video was recorded from a distance of 50 meters, but upon reviewing the footage, Jung and his team were able to identify that the animal had a small amount of gray-white fur around its face.
A concern among scientists regarding color variation in mammals is whether this trait will be beneficial (adaptive) or detrimental (poorly adaptive) for the animal. In the case of the melanistic lynx, its fur color could hinder its ability to stalk prey against a snowy backdrop. “The adaptive significance of melanism in lynx is still unclear, but the loss of camouflage when hunting in winter may be a poor adaptation,” the research team wrote.
