There are new photos and videos of a young melanistic leopard in Kenya. The cat (which appears to still be with its yellow mother) is at Loisaba Conservancy. The findings prompted nearby Ol Ari Nyiro Conservancy to release a 2007 photo of a black leopard in their area. Exciting times for cat lovers like me. Black leopard spotted in Africa for first time in 100 years
Check photographer Will Burrard Lucas (Facebook Burrard-lucas photography Instagram willbl) for some more photos!
Extremely cool - and interesting to hear about the 2007 photo because I felt quite sure that I had heard of black leopards in central Kenya before this, and just thought they hadn't been caught on camera. Aside: we have a significant number of black leopards in India at the moment, too! There is one very famous male in Kabini (Nagarahole National Park) who is often seen by tourists - the fact that a melanistic leopard is not only alive but thriving in a park where he is 100% possible-to-see is a once-in-many-lifetimes opportunity that I'm not going to miss while living here! In addition, there are at least 1-2 more in the South/Western Ghats, 1 photographed last year in Tadoba, 1 that is semi-regularly photographed in Manas, and 1-2 more in more remote parks in Orissa. It's raining black leopard sightings!
Ok. I just spent 20 minutes running and screaming in triumph and ecstasy. I'm only just now starting to calm down. But this is GLORIOUS. This is my home state, and a reserve I once worked at. We haven't had a reliably sight-able black leopard in Central India in decades. BRB booking my train tickets. Bagheera has returned.
Here is a nice blog and series of photos from photographer Will Burrard-Lucas: Black Leopard: My quest to photograph the most elusive cat in Africa
Camera traps in this area in Kenya have now recorded video footage of a mother black leopard with two cubs: one "normal" and one black! How Cameras Filmed a Rare Black Leopard Mother and Cubs
