A Rare Black Melanist Wolf Was Shot in Eastern Kazakhstan

Earlier, local residents complained about a large pack of wolves that had been attacking livestock, Orda.kz reports.

In the East Kazakhstan Region, hunters shot a rare black melanist wolf. They tracked down a pack of seven wolves.

There was one black melanist wolf in the pack. The predators actively attacked livestock, including horses. As a result, the hunters managed to choose a suitable place and time when it was possible to approach them and, from a good distance, using high-precision weapons, ‘withdraw’ several wolves. The hunters were also lucky to get a rare black wolf.wrote Kazhym Dzhumaliyev, Chairman of the Board of the public association Kazakhstan Society of Hunters and Fishermen “Tabigat”. 

According to him, hunters in the region had not encountered wolves of this color before.

Professor Konstantin Prokopov of S. Amanzholov East Kazakhstan State University explained that melanists are animals with an unusually dark or black coloration caused by an increased amount of melanin pigment due to a genetic mutation.

Such wolves are very rare in the East Kazakhstan Region. This is, so to speak, a unique case. Melanism is observed in wolves, foxes, squirrels, and butterflies. Black panthers are not an independent species. A melanist is a rare phenomenon.the professor noted. 

Original author: Elena Medvedeva

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