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Africa's Black Panthers Emerge From a Century in the Shadows (nytimes.com)

Posted by msmash on from the extremely-rare-sightings dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: It's a scientific coup to warm the heart of any superhero fan: the first documented sightings of a black panther in Africa in about 100 years [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], not far from where Marvel places the fictional setting of its Oscar-nominated "Black Panther." A team from the Institute for Conservation Research of the San Diego Zoo Global and the Loisaba Conservancy in Kenya confirmed the existence of black leopards -- as the animals are also known -- in Laikipia County, an area north of Nairobi, Kenya's capital. "It is certain black panthers have been there all along, but good footage that could confirm it has always been absent until now," Nicholas Pilfold, a biologist at the San Diego institute, said in an Instagram post. "Black panthers are uncommon, only about 11 percent of leopards globally are black," he added. "But black panthers in Africa are extremely rare."

4 of 54 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wakanda by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Funny
    I thought the easiest way to spot Black Panthers, was outside of voting polls trying to intimidate voters?

    LINKY

    :)

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  2. Re: Don't worry about by Nidi62 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This submission is fake news. There was a reported sighting in 2013.

    There are reported sightings of thylacines as well, but they are still officially considered extinct. In this case, the last documented (not reported) sighting was 110 years ago. However, reported sightings are what led the researchers to this discovery as it gave them a good idea of where to look.

    --
    The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
  3. Re: Don't worry about by Nkwe · · Score: 2

    This submission is fake news. There was a reported sighting in 2013.

    There are reported sightings of thylacines as well, but they are still officially considered extinct. In this case, the last documented (not reported) sighting was 110 years ago. However, reported sightings are what led the researchers to this discovery as it gave them a good idea of where to look.

    Although unlike the thylacine, the black panther is not (and has not been) considered extinct. A black panther (leopard) is not a different species than regular leopard is. Black leopards are a normal, but rare minor genetic variation of "regular" leopards. It has been theorized that they are rare because their camouflage doesn't work as well, giving them a lower survival rate. All black jaguars also exist, and can also be referred to as black panthers.

  4. % of black vs. not leopards by omfglearntoplay · · Score: 2, Informative

    I love black panthers (black leopards/jaguars) myself. According to wikipedia, any species of big cat that is almost all black is a black panther.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
    "A black panther is the melanistic color variant of any big cat species. Black panthers in Asia and Africa are leopards (Panthera pardus), and those in the Americas are jaguars (Panthera onca).[1][2]"

    I was curious about the population distribution after reading this article. According to this sites below, most leopards in non-African areas are the black colored (melanistic mutation) ones, and that is in mostly south and southeastern Asia.

    https://animals.mom.me/countri...
    https://outofafricapark.com/me...

    Geographic Range

    Black leopards occur predominantly in southwestern China, Bhutan, India and Myanmar, and throughout the Malay peninsula including the island of Java. In these areas, melanistic leopards are more common than those with the lighter-colored pelts of animals with dominant genes. In the Malay peninsula, nearly all leopards reported are melanistic. The melanistic mutation is less common in Africa, but individuals have been reported in Ethiopia, Kenya and the equatorial forests of Cameroon. Natural selection may play a role in the predominance of black leopards in Asia, where the melanistic coloration is more of an asset than in the African savanna.

    Habitat:

    Black panthers live chiefly in the hot, dense tropical rainforests of South and Southeast Asia. They are mainly in Southwestern China, Burma, Nepal, Southern India, Indonesia, and the southern part of Malaysia. Black leopards are more common than light-colored leopards. They are less common in tropical Africa but have been reported from Ethiopia, from the forests of Mount Kenya and from the Aberdares; however, their population in these areas is sparse. One of the reasons that black panthers are able to live in such a variety of habitats is that they can eat many types of animals. Their food includes various species of mammals, reptiles, and birds, all of which live in different habitats.