More than one black panther in Goa, say wildlifers, locals

PANAJI: Forest minister Vishwajit Rane on Sunday shared an image of a black panther (or a melanistic leopard) captured on a camera trap in the forests of Mollem, and said that movements of the animal would be closely monitored by forest officials. The presence and sightings of black panthers is usually considered rare, but in Goa, have made their presence felt for a long time.
Naturalists state that even at present, there have been sightings to prove that more than one black leopard exists in Goa.
“An amazing sighting of the #BlackPanther captured at Mollem through the camera trap. I have asked the department to keep track and monitor movements of the Black Panther. We shall be putting up more camera traps to monitor his thorough movement,” tweeted Rane. The melanistic colour variant of a leopard or jaguar is known as black panther. Melanism is a genetic condition in which an animal overproduces melanin, which is why the presence of a black big cat is considered an unusual occurrence.
This also makes the sightings of more than one black leopard in Goa an interesting occurrence for naturalists.
“The black big cats spotted in Goa are melanistic leopards and these melanistic cats are not jet-black in colour. Even in the picture shared by the minister, the patterns on the leopard are visible due to the lighting,” said Ramesh Zarmekar, a naturalist.
Zarmekar said that black panther sightings have surprisingly not been so unusual in Goa.
“At least four melanistic leopards could be present around the Sacorda area outside the Mollem sanctuary limits, as estimated through sightings. There are certain spots in these areas where there has been one sighting at least every ten days in recent months,” said Zarmekar.
He said that as melanistic leopards occur due to a genetic condition, they are rare. However, not just the black variant, but all leopards outside protected areas in Goa need a conservation plan at present.
“The ratio of the black variant to other leopards is very low. Those inside sanctuary limits are already protected, but measures need to be taken to protect not just the black leopards, but all leopards in Goa. With increase in forest clearings, leopards are often spotted near human habitation and this can lead to man-animal conflict,” Zarmekar said.
Wildlifer Amrut Singh said that there have also been sightings of black leopards in the forests of Sattari. “Black panthers have been spotted earlier and at present too, and have even been captured by camera traps earlier in Goa. There are sightings in Sattari and in the past, they have even been spotted in Bicholim at Karapur near the canal,” he said.