A Forest Range Officer in Karnataka’s Nagarhole Tiger Reserve spotted a black panther on Monday photos of whom have gone viral on social media.
As per the department, the panther seems to be 4-5 years old but the sex could not be determined yet. The panther was spotted on a large mass-laden tree branch where it was in an attentive posture and was looking backward. In another photograph, the panther looked right at the lens of the photographer. This is significant because there are at least two more photographs of a black panther in the Kabini forests of Mysuru district. Both these pictures have taken social media by storm. However, the forest official refused to confirm that the panther in the photograph and the one spotted on Monday is the same. He said,
“I am not sure of the photographs of the black panther in the viral social media posts and the one spotted on Monday are one and the same.”
Given that the photographs have no stamp or credit, if the photographer can come forward and take credit, the forest officials could confirm the details. Mahesh Kumar oversees the forest has said he cannot confirm this. He said that photographers are not allowed inside the forest and they have to capture the image from the confines of the safari vehicle. He said,
“We don’t allow photographers just like that into the park. Any visitor who comes for a safari will be allowed inside the park in the safari route. So, it is by chance they sight an animal. Anybody can sigh any animal any given day.”
Leopard With Extra Melanin
A photographer Shaaz Jung has claimed the credit for the images and is a regular visitor of the tiger reserve. Meanwhile, the deputy conservator of forests said that the black panther is nothing but a leopard with excessive melanin on its coat and has said that it gains the attention because of the publicity. He said,
“It gets specialty only because of the people who follow it and give publicity to that animal. They have some kind of special value attached to it. Otherwise, it is just like any other animal, the only thing is it is melanistic.”
Source: The News Minute
