Overview
- Roadside CCTV cameras in the Nilgiris recorded a melanistic leopard walking alongside two spotted leopards at around 2 AM on July 16.
- Indian Forest Service officer Parveen Kaswan posted the 29-second video on X, dubbing the black panther “Bagheera” and explaining that black panthers are melanistic variants of the Indian leopard.
- The synchronized nocturnal walk is exceptionally rare because leopards are typically solitary hunters.
- Melanism arises from a genetic mutation that causes excess dark pigmentation while preserving the faint outline of a leopard’s rosettes under certain lighting.
- Conservationists warn that habitat fragmentation and poaching threaten leopard populations and say that viral sightings can bolster protective policies.