# Black wolves in Voyager



## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

This appears to be the same wolf and each time it appears to be alone and a little ill at ease. Perhaps because of the close proximity of the trail camera. As hunters, we have a fascination with black wolves. They look a little different and stand out among their pack mates. This melanistic coloring is believed to come from domestic dogs. I linked an article below about this. I've seen pictures of melanistic coyote's as well. The question is do they have timber wolf in their ancestry or simply domestic dog? 
_".In graywolves, theKlocus, ab-defensin gene, causes black coat color via a dominantly inheritedKB allele. The allele is derived from dog-wolf hybridization and is at high frequency in North American wolf populations. We designed a DNA capture array to probe the geographic origin, age, and number ofintrogression events of theKB allelein a panel of 331wolves and 20 dogs.Wefoundlow diversityinKB , but not ancestral k y ,wolf haplotypes consistentwith a selective sweep of the black haplotype across North America. Further, North American wolf KB haplotypes are monophyletic, suggesting that a single adaptive introgression from dogs to wolves most likely occurred in the Northwest Territories or Yukon. We use a new analytical approach to date the origin of theKB allele in Yukon wolves to between 1,598 and 7,248 years ago, suggesting that introgression with early Native American dogs was the source. Using population genetic simulations, we show that the K locus is undergoing natural selection in four wolf populations. We find evidence for balancing selection, specifically in Yellowstone wolves, which could be a result of selection for enhanced immunity in response to distemper. With these data, we demonstrate how the spread of an adaptive variant may have occurred across a species’ geographic range. "
Melanistic Wolves_

The Voyager Wolf Project has some really nice trail cam footage they have gathered during their program. 




I wish I knew what that lure was...


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## sparky18181 (Apr 17, 2012)

I ve only seen one black wolf in the wild and that was in Wyoming Pretty cool


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## Divers Down (Mar 31, 2008)

That's some lure!! gotta find out what.
Them bears were like a fat kid on cake.


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## yooperkenny (Jul 13, 2004)

sparky18181 said:


> I ve only seen one black wolf in the wild and that was in Wyoming Pretty cool


Actually saw a black wolf several years ago near Michigamme i.e. north of Van Riper up on the Peshekee Grade. It was stunning. Couldn't get a shot off lol


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## aacosta (Dec 18, 2015)

Very cool, lots of species diversity, except there were zero deer


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## Divers Down (Mar 31, 2008)

Not a wolf but I called in this black Yote a couple years ago.


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## wpmisport (Feb 9, 2010)

Nostromo said:


> I wish I knew what that lure was...


Heck of a location. Very cool.



aacosta said:


> Very cool, lots of species diversity, except there were zero deer


I think there was one buck.


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

Almost entirely black wolf pack.


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## Leris8 (Oct 9, 2021)

😮😮
Bunch of wolf


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## MichMac (Oct 7, 2016)

The only wild wolf I've ever seen was east of Ely, MN, near Snowbank Lake. It had yellow eyes. 

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## Macs13 (Apr 24, 2019)

Nostromo said:


> This appears to be the same wolf and each time it appears to be alone and a little ill at ease. Perhaps because of the close proximity of the trail camera. As hunters, we have a fascination with black wolves. They look a little different and stand out among their pack mates. This melanistic coloring is believed to come from domestic dogs. I linked an article below about this. I've seen pictures of melanistic coyote's as well. The question is do they have timber wolf in their ancestry or simply domestic dog?
> _".In graywolves, theKlocus, ab-defensin gene, causes black coat color via a dominantly inheritedKB allele. The allele is derived from dog-wolf hybridization and is at high frequency in North American wolf populations. We designed a DNA capture array to probe the geographic origin, age, and number ofintrogression events of theKB allelein a panel of 331wolves and 20 dogs.Wefoundlow diversityinKB , but not ancestral k y ,wolf haplotypes consistentwith a selective sweep of the black haplotype across North America. Further, North American wolf KB haplotypes are monophyletic, suggesting that a single adaptive introgression from dogs to wolves most likely occurred in the Northwest Territories or Yukon. We use a new analytical approach to date the origin of theKB allele in Yukon wolves to between 1,598 and 7,248 years ago, suggesting that introgression with early Native American dogs was the source. Using population genetic simulations, we show that the K locus is undergoing natural selection in four wolf populations. We find evidence for balancing selection, specifically in Yellowstone wolves, which could be a result of selection for enhanced immunity in response to distemper. With these data, we demonstrate how the spread of an adaptive variant may have occurred across a species’ geographic range. "
> Melanistic Wolves_
> 
> ...


It took A LOT of scrolling but my insomnia paid off. This is from the video's creator.









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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

Don’t shoot the black male in SC Chippewa county. He wears a tracking collar.


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