Mumbai: Tourists at the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur area spotted a black leopard. The forest officials said that the incident occurred on March 3, when the world was celebrating Wildlife Day.
Forest officials said that the black leopard was earlier spotted in May 2018. “We suspect it is the same melanistic leopard that was captured in our trap cameras. However it remains elusive mostly, it seems,” said a forest official.
According to the Maharashtra forest department, the black leopard is likely to be around five years old and has been spotted in the core areas of Tadoba both the times. Officials also stated that earlier in 2014, a black panther cub was spotted and they suspect it to be the same leopard that was spotted Sunday.
The melanistic leopard is a colour variant of the Indian leopard, which is rich in melanism that is the development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin.
These leopards are reportedly from densely forested areas of south India, mostly from the rain forests in Karnataka, Kerala and Assam. Wildlife experts have expressed surprise over its sighting in Tadoba.
