06 July,2021 07:48 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet Jadhav
The black leopard filmed by a trap camera at Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve. Pic/Forest Dept
A camera trap installed at Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve in Bhandara district has captured the image of a black panther, delighting wildlife lovers. This is the third such sighting in the central Indian landscape after similar partially black melanistic leopards were spotted at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve and Madhya Pradesh's Pench Tiger Reserve.
"The camera traps at NNTR have captured a pair of leopards and the interesting thing is that one of the leopards is partially melanistic," said a senior forest department official.
Conservation photographer Sarosh Lodhi, who is also a CLaW member said, "The discovery of melanistic leopards in different parts of the country is only a result of advanced trap camera techniques. These animals must've been present all this while, but are getting discovered now. It will help in revenue generation with renewed interests of wildlife lovers and photographers to see these beauties firsthand."
Kedar Gore, wildlife conservationist and director of The Corbett Foundation, said melanism is not uncommon in leopards from humid forests in the Western Ghats, the Eastern Ghats and Eastern Himalayas.
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"It is interesting to note the recent occurrences of melanistic leopards from the forests of central India (Tadoba, Pench and Nagzira). The melanistic leopard is not a different species but has this unique colouration due to genetic variation. Researchers consider melanism in the cat family to be linked with camouflage from large predators (tigers) and thermoregulation."
In May 2018, a family from Belgium visiting the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve was lucky enough to witness a black panther - an animal usually spotted in the Konkan region, Goa, and Kabini in Karnataka. In November 2020, a tour operator spotted a black leopard during at Pench Tiger Reserve, also known as the Mowgli land.
Melanistic leopards are commonly called black panthers or black leopards. They're found in the forests of the Western Ghats and north-east India and are black in colour due to the presence of excess melanin in their bodies. The colour of their fur is a mixture of blue, black, grey and purple.
2018
When a similar leopard was spotted at Tadoba reserve
