Photographer Captures Pictures Of Extremely Rare Black Leopard For The First Time In Two Years
If you happen to be a lover of cats, then you might appreciate what this beautiful black leopard has to offer. Not only is it a sight to see, but it’s also a site that is rarely seen.
The rare black leopard has been elusive for more than two years. Recently, a photographer was able to capture some pictures of the leopard at the Pench National Park in the Bhopal forests.
Begheera is the name of the leopard, which is thought to come from a jungle book character. It was in November 2020 when they last spotted Begheera but now they have some new pictures, and park officials feel that it is the same big cat.
Pench Tiger Reserve uploaded the footage, showing it running across the road and sitting in a tree. They also were able to capture footage of the leopard running into the forest when it thought nobody was watching.
Baghera with a companion!!
Visit Pench and go on a Buffer Safari this monsoon season….#buffermesafar #MadhyaPradesh #Jungle #JungleFever #junglebook @minforestmp@MPTourism @MP_MyGov pic.twitter.com/uDLIWxkErp
— Pench Tiger Reserve (@PenchMP) August 28, 2022
Another cat is also seen along with Begheera, but that leopard is not quite as rare. The other leopard has regular spotted patterns, but the black leopard is very unusual.
Begheera is thought to have that unusual color because of a condition known as melanism. That condition causes an increase in dark pigment, so the cat itself looks darker.
Gone in a flash!! Leopards are also superfast & highly agile
Check out how swiftly our Baghera made a dash across the forest road. Video courtesy: Ms. Haritika@ChouhanShivraj@KrVijayShah@ntca_india @moefcc@minforestmp@MPTourism @MP_MyGov #BlackPanther #blackleopard pic.twitter.com/prgFYG2nnu— Pench Tiger Reserve (@PenchMP) August 21, 2022
The dark color of Begheera and other black leopards works in their favor. They often hide out in the dark forest, so they are difficult to spot in the shadows.
Black leopards are more commonly seen in Asia and at times, they have been seen in Africa.
Baghera with a companion strolling across the #buffer in #Pench.
Pic credit : Parag Kapadia#penchtigerreseve #buffermeinsafar #buffermesafar#mptourism#wildmp@minforestmp @MP_MyGov @MPTourism @JansamparkMP pic.twitter.com/8KKW4ppYnR
— Pench Tiger Reserve (@PenchMP) August 31, 2022
According to DailyMail, in 2022, black leopards have been spotted on rare occasions in India. This includes two black tigers that were seen in the Nandankanan National Park.
Those animals were only seen in the past few years in the Odisha state and experts feel as if there may only be a handful of them left in the region.
