In a rare sight, a melanistic leopard was seen roaming around in Odisha’s Nayagarh forest with a cub. The awe-inspiring moment was captured on camera.
In the video, the melanistic spotted feline, also called the black panther, is seen carrying a cub in its mouth while wandering through the dense forest of Nayagarh.
Take a look at the video here:
The video was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha with the caption, “A rare melanistic leopard with cub has been sighted in central Odisha, reflecting the region’s incredible biodiversity. These elusive ‘black panthers’ are vital to the ecosystem—protecting their habitat ensures a thriving wildlife heritage.”
The video was captured on a camera trap installed in the forest, reports news agency PTI.
The All Odisha Leopard Estimation-2024 has revealed that the state has presence of such leopards in three forest divisions.
Earlier Sightings
Sightings of black panthers are very uncommon. Before this, two such big cats were spotted in Odisha in two separate locations back in November 2023 during the tiger census using camera traps in the state.
Retired Indian Forest Service Officer Susanta Nanda shared separate images of the two black leopards on X with the caption, “Ongoing camera trap tiger census in Odisha is throwing up some exciting & unexpected presence of wild fauna in our state.”
In a more recent sighting, industrialist Harsh Goenka shared a video of two majestic cats—a leopard and a black panther—roaming outside his home in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor. He captioned the post, “This majestic creature was spotted outside our Coonoor home. A reminder that we are guests in their territory.”
According to the findings of a state-sponsored survey conducted in Odisha last year, the state has a total leopard population of 696. The census was conducted in May last year and the report was released by state forest minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia on October 3, 2024. A total of 284 cameras were used and factors such as photographs, pug marks, scrapes, scats, rakes, urine spray, vocalisations, and livestock depredation were analysed to determine the population.