An Uncommon Black Leopard Was Seen in Kenya Laikipia
Will Burrard Lucas a British wildlife photographer had his fingers crossed when he installed cameras to capture the rumored Black Panther in Laikipia Wilderness camp. Between February and April, the camera traps yielded fruits when indeed a black panther was spotted severally and photographed. This is an activity that has gone viral and believed to have been one of the most uniquely done photographic captures in one hundred years. Steve Carey had revealed the whereabouts of the melanistic leopard which gave Lucas an idea where to install his traps. After about four days of waiting, there appeared the black leopard, the photo series and the winning chance to publish the news at Journal of African Ecology.
The Black Panther has gone down in history with different interesting mythical believes around the world. It has been an icon in a fiction movie “Black Panther” in “Wakanda” nation all the more reason to think of it as a ‘magical or an emerging spirit in the dark’ according to my people’s believes.
It is important to know that this Black Panther occurrence is actually due to melanin which is the opposite of albinism. What happens is that the gene that makes the hair or skin black dominates making the animal appear black or with rosette patterns in leopards. According to Wikipedia, melanism can occur to animals from all the big cat family. The black leopards can actually give birth to normal printed leopards, however, it is always a rare case for this to happen.
Phoebe Okall of Nation media group in 2013, recorded of spotting of a black panther leopard in almost the same location in laikipia at Ol Jogi conservancy. Such historical occurrence happened 100 years back where a black panther was spotted in Ethiopia and the photographs kept in Washington as collections at National Museum of Natural History.
These news again brings Kenya tourist destination at the world spotlight as the black panther news go viral.
We can do our best and do a customized safari to Laikipia Conservancy to learn more about this and actually see more unique animals in this beautiful destination
With our Tailor made safaris from Nairobi, you can enjoy travel to Mt. Kenya to see the beauty and freshness of Mt.Kenya as well as get a chance to visit Laikipia Conservancy on a more customized trip.