White, Black & Golden Tigers

[BorneanTiger]

(07-24-2019, 05:04 PM)Ashutosh Wrote:

Quote:There is no reason why a melanistic leopard couldn't survive in Africa but it hasn't been seen there in recent times and it seems mostly only seen in kabini, not throughout other Indian reserves.

@Pckts 
Actually, there is a very common misconception amongst people about melanistic leopards of India. According to camera traps laid in Nilgiri Biosphere reserve and other places in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, more than 10% of all camera trapped leopards were melanistic.

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2014/07/16/legendary-black-leopards-appear-on-camera-traps/

There was also a pseudo melanistic leopard camera trapped from Kerala which looked like a King cheetah in it’s markings. I am guessing the evergreen nature of the Western Ghats makes it conducive for them to thrive. And, you are right about Kabini. I have seen 3 melanistic leopards myself in Nagarhole (also the place where I saw my first tiger so is a special place in my life).

That reminds me of the issue of the 'Pogeyan', which was mentioned by the photographer Sandesh Kadur, and is known to locals in the area of Anamudi, the highest point of the Western Ghats, in the Indian state of Kerala. Its name means "The cat that comes and goes like the mist." During broad daylight, Kadur reportedly saw the felid in the high-altitude grasslands around Anamudi. He described it as being big, with a long tail and rounded ears. Its uniform colour was darkish grey. Of the known cats, the Pogeyan is most likely to be an Indian leopard, because it was described as being similar to the leopard in size and shape, the leopard is known to exist in the Western Ghats, and the furs of some leopards may differ from their main appearance of being yellow with rosettes, such as by being melanistic.

https://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology...n-the-ghat, https://books.google.com/books?id=GJhFAQ...YQ6AEINjAC, Reply