Were pure white wolves observed in Eurasia ?

[Giga]

Hello there,

Might you have a nice day

When I read about wolves, I always see that fully white wolves are only present in the North America (Canada, Greenland and Alaska) and that in general American wolves display a bigger variety of colors than their Eurasian counterparts.

There is however an old documentary about Russian/Soviet animals where you can see several fully white specimens as well as some others which are fully black which I did find odd ( link below the segment about wolves start at around 42:30). It’s an old documentary (prior to 2002 I think).

Photos and videos of wolves in the Eurasian arctic are rare except for individuals kept in zoos, so I was wondering is there indeed fully white wolves in Northern Eurasia or did this documentary use footage (like stock footage) from various places?

Your thoughts ? Are there some fully white specimen among canis lupus lupus and canis lupus albus ?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Link to the documentary in question:

(it's a part of a serie)

 

[Mo Hassan]

The name of the subspecies itself, albus being Latin for white, would indicate that at least one recorded specimen was pale in colour.

 

[Giga]

The name of the subspecies itself, albus being Latin for white, would indicate that at least one recorded specimen was pale in colour.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1374839
I think at some point in history, canis lupus albus Sabine (1823) refered to wolves found in Canada and that the Siberian wolf was named canis albus lupus Kerr (1792). Although in this book it did specify it was a white wolf that was found near the Yenesei River.

 

[Brayden Delashmutt]

Yes, there are white wolves in Scandinavia

 

[Giga]

Yes, there are white wolves in Scandinavia

Really ? Like observed recently ?
I thought tundra wolves (canis lupus albus) were extinct in scandinavia.

 

[Giga]

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1374839
I think at some point in history, canis lupus albus Sabine (1823) refered to wolves found in Canada and that the Siberian wolf was named canis albus lupus Kerr (1792). Although in this book it did specify it was a white wolf that was found near the Yenesei River.

More on this, Kerr did effectively name in his a white wolf found near the Yenisei River canis lupus albus. The animal kingdom, or zoological system, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnæus. containing a complete systematic description, arrangement, and nomenclature, of all the known species and varieties of the mammalia, or animals which give suck to their young : Linné, Carl von, 1707-1778 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Interstingly, a wolf of uniform white color was also found in Mexico and was named canis lupus mexicanus albus. The animal kingdom, or zoological system, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnæus. containing a complete systematic description, arrangement, and nomenclature, of all the known species and varieties of the mammalia, or animals which give suck to their young : Linné, Carl von, 1707-1778 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

 

[Brayden Delashmutt]

More on this, Kerr did effectively name in his a white wolf found near the Yenisei River canis lupus albus. The animal kingdom, or zoological system, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnæus. containing a complete systematic description, arrangement, and nomenclature, of all the known species and varieties of the mammalia, or animals which give suck to their young : Linné, Carl von, 1707-1778 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Interstingly, a wolf of uniform white color was also found in Mexico and was named canis lupus mexicanus albus. The animal kingdom, or zoological system, of the celebrated Sir Charles Linnæus. containing a complete systematic description, arrangement, and nomenclature, of all the known species and varieties of the mammalia, or animals which give suck to their young : Linné, Carl von, 1707-1778 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

There is a white wolf in this video as well. Not pure, but goes to show it can happen

 

[Giga]

There is a white wolf in this video as well. Not pure, but goes to show it can happen

It is indeed a pretty pale/light wolf.
Now, I don't think I can ever prove/disprove that the documentary I posted in the OP used stock footage or footage from N.America.
However, based on what I've found this since + what you've posted, whites wolves (even purer than this one) were observed in Eurasia, just less frequently than in N.America.