A conservation group in Poland has recorded footage of two uncommon black wolves, believed to be siblings, crossing a stream in a forest.
This rare event, captured on video last year, has led the SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Poland to collect scat samples in the same forest where the wolves were seen. This initiative aims to provide scientists with insights into the genetics of these black wolves.
The video footage was taken by Joanna Toczydlowska, a project coordinator working with the wildlife organization, who had originally set up the camera to monitor beavers.
But she was surprised when she reviewed the recorded footage and saw wolves instead. She decided to leave the camera in place to learn more about the rare animals.
One of the black wolves was spotted with a gray wolf. (SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Poland via AP)
Toczydlowska said the two black wolves were likely siblings and about a year old, which she hypothesized on the basis that wolves travel in families and the two were about 66 pounds. She also said at least one of the black wolves spotted was a male.
Wolves were nearly extinct in Poland by the 1950s, though the population has rebounded in recent years, particularly in the central part of the country.
Toczydlowska and her colleagues help educate the public on how to safely live in areas inhabited by packs of wolves.
“For people, it’s a new phenomenon,” Roman Gula, head of the organization’s wolf monitoring project, told the AP. “Education is one of our major, major goals.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
