Rare black leopard captured in Amazing photographs

Nope, this isn’t a Marvel comic book: The black panther made a rare appearance in Africa.

On Monday, the San Diego Zoo confirmed a rare black leopard, sometimes called black panther, was spotted by remote cameras set up as part of a larger study into the populations of the creatures in Kenya.

Then on Wednesday, British wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas released several incredible images showing a closer view of the black leopard, which has a gene mutation called melanism that lets the cat’s coat appear black in daylight. 

“Regionally, we’ve heard reports of black leopards living here in Kenya, but high-quality footage or imagery to support these observations has always been missing,” said Nicholas Pilfold, a scientist with San Diego Zoo Global, in a statement.

As of 2017, only one sighting of a black leopard had been confirmed, in a 1909 photograph from Ethiopia that sits in the Museum of Natural History in the U.S., per a study on the leopards published last month in the African Journal of Ecology. 

In the study, researchers led by Pilfold captured a series of images with cameras stationed near water sources and animal trails in Lakipia County in Kenya. The study shows several pictures of the black leopard taken between February and April 2018.

The study said the collection of photos “are the first reported in nearly 100 years that confirm the existence of black leopard in Africa.”

In a blog post published Wednesday, Burrard-Lucas said he used a CamtraptionsCamera Trap consisting of a wireless motion sensor, high-quality DSLR camera, and “two or three flashes” during a trip to the Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Kenya.

The traps are left for several days in areas where the leopards are believed to roam.

“As far as I know, these are the first high-quality camera trap photographs of a wild melanistic leopard ever taken in Africa,” wrote Burrard-Lucas.

“I can still scarcely believe that this project – which started out as a speculative recce trip – has paid such spectacular dividends!” 
The zoo said African leopards have been listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Causes cited by the zoo for dwindling leopard numbers include habitat loss, hunting, competition for prey, and conflict with farmers.