In India’s Tadoba-Andhari National Park, an extremely secretive black leopard was recently seen. The beautiful image was discovered by Anurag Gawande, a 24-year-old wildlife photographer. Anurag was on a safari earlier this year when he saw a melanistic leopard trying to hunt a deer cross a road.
When the rare wild leopard was discovered, the lucky photographer was only 30 feet away. The 24-year-old couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw such a magnificent creature. “It was unexpected since we expected to see a tiger, but instead we saw a black leopard wandering down the trail,” he added.
However, Anurag stated that this is the second time he has seen the unusual species in less than a year. “I was viewing it for the second time,” he explained. “While viewing it, I felt the same rush, but this time I was more conscious of the situation. We turned off our car and stayed a safe distance away so it wouldn’t move.”
“We were tracking a tiger but on the way on Tadoba lake we heard a deer yell and the next instant we spotted Black leopard,” Anurag recalled of the once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was sitting in the middle of the path… Then it noticed the deer and attempted, but failed, to hunt it.” Anurag further stated that this is “Tadoba Park’s lone black leopard.”
Here’s where you can see the uncommon melanistic leopard:
Experts estimate that just around 1% of leopards are born with distinctive coloration, making them highly unusual. Melanism may be seen not just in leopards, but also in tigers, foxes, and even penguins. Unlike albinism, which is caused by a lack of skin pigmentation, melanism is caused by a black pigmentation of the skin!
