Rare black leopard 'Black Panther" spotted in Africa for the first time in 100 years

Rare black leopard 'Black Panther" spotted in Africa for the first time in 100 years

Biologists have captured a rare footage of a big Black Leopard also known as 'Black Panther' walking majestically in Kenya, making it the first time the animal has been photographed in Africa since 1909.

Nick Pilfold, a San Diego Zoo global scientist, said they captured the footage after months of watching and waiting. His team of biologists had placed remote life cameras to trace the leopard population close to Loisaba Conservancy in Laikipia County last year when they heard unconfirmed reports of a possible black leopard sighting.

"We intensified our camera placement in the area the reports were being created. Within a few months, we were rewarded with multiple observations on our cameras" he aforementioned on Tuesday night.

The female leopard's coat color is pitch black as a results of melanism, a gene mutation that results in an over-production of pigment, Pilfold said. It's the opposite of albinism and although the leopard's coat appears black during the day, its rosette patterns are visible in nighttime infrared imagery.

While there have been reports of sightings of black leopards the last confirmed observation was in Ethiopia more than a century ago, he said. Pilfold is an element of a team from the San Diego zoo operating with native partners, as well as the Republic of Kenya wildlife Service, to observe leopard populations within the space and facilitate preserve the species.