Black leopard was photographed for the first time in a century

Whenever I read an animal’s name and the word ‘century’ in the same line, it is usually bad news. Well, not today! Renowned wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas just caught the most majestic big cat on camera, and we will let the photos do the rest of the talking.


Black Leopards have outwardly been spotted in Kenya multiple times over the last decade but never been clicked. Will believes that these are the first high-res shots of the bloodsucker. These were shot at the Laikipia Wilderness camp in Kenya. In the days preceding the click, he set up camera traps in locations in places where the black leopard was likely to pass, though, he was not very optimistic…


As I scrolled through the images on the back of the camera, I paused and peered at the photograph below in incomprehension … a pair of eyes surrounded by inky darkness … a black leopard! I couldn’t believe it and it took a few days before it sank in that I had achieved my dream.


The leopard ache from a case of skin –disorder, where the skin develops a dark-colored pigment. This is the opposite of fair haired, where the pigments are entirely missing. As opposed to contrary belief, this leopard will indeed not be able to concealment in the African savannah, making it far more grueling for her to hide from her prey. The young female leopard was spotted with her mother, which implies that the unique coloration has not affected her familial bonding, which is a common eventuality for differently-colored animals.

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