Elusive Black Canada Lynx Filmed in Wild for First Time Ever

A Canada lynx with jet black fur has been spotted and filmed for the first time ever.

Canada lynx usually have silvery gray coats in winter, changing to red-brown in summer. This rare and unique finding of a black-furred lynx, videoed for the first time a few miles southeast of Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon territory, has been published in the journalMammalia.

"Coat color in the genus Lynx tends to be stable, with little variation within species compared to that of other felids," the authors wrote in the paper.

"A rare pallid color morph is occasionally observed, suggestive of partial albinism. Here, I report the first record of a melanistic Canada lynx."

Canada lynx are found across Canada, as well as in parts of the northern U.S. and Alaska. They usually grow to between 19 and 22 inches tall at the shoulder, and are part of a specialist predator-prey cycle relationship with the snowshoe hare, depending heavily on the hares as food.

"The individual was photographed during summer in the Yukon (Canada). It had a black coat containing whitish gray guard hairs throughout, as well as whitish gray hairs in the facial ruff and the rostrum and dorsal regions. There are only a small number of records of coat colour polymorphisms in the genus Lynx," wrote the authors.

This may be due to melanism, a kind of genetic mutation that causes unique darker colorations in animals due to excess production of melanin. Melanism is common in species of cat, with around a third of Felidae species having been observed to have this kind of mutation.

Albinism is a similar type of condition caused by mutations leading to little or no melanin being produced, resulting in the animal having pale skin, white hair and red eyes.

"Melanism in animals that otherwise are not dark can be caused by spontaneous mutations in genes responsible for the production of melanin," Germán Orizaola, a senior researcher at the University of Oviedo, told Newsweek.

"In this particular case, this is quite likely the reason, since the normal coloration of the species is gray. Mutation causing albinism can occur in different genes, and genes that are different than the ones causing melanism. Just in humans, there are more than 20 genes whose alteration can cause albinism."

Pablo Burraco, an evolution researcher at Estación Biológica de Doñana, told Newsweek that the "frequency of this mutation in lynxes might be much lower than in other felids, which would explain why black lynxes are not common at all."

Usually, Canada lynx turn silvery gray in the winter, giving them camouflage during the snowy Canadian winter. According to the paper, this loss of camouflage when hunting snowshoe hare during winter is likely maladaptive.

"As I assume this black lynx won't turn gray during the winter, that could potentially have some consequences for that individual. However, it would be interesting to see if that individual changes its behavior in order to try to occupy certain areas where its coloration matches better with the background, then improving its predation success," Burraco said.

This behavior change has been previously theorized to occur in melanistic leopards, also known as black panthers, with the darker big cats being found in some areas and not others, rather than being randomly located.

Regardless, it's likely that this darker Canada lynx will be at a severe disadvantage compared to its silver peers during the winter months.

"Dark-coloured Canada lynx are likely far less camouflaged to snowshoe hare during winter when the ground is covered with deep snow. Hence, melanistic individuals would be at a distinct disadvantage when hunting hares during winter," the authors wrote in the paper.

"Indeed, with increased competition by coyotes a concern for Canada lynx encountering increasingly shallow snow as a result of climate change, the added disadvantage of lost camouflage to melanistic lynx hunting hares during winter would likely result in melanism being maladaptive."