Black panther caught on trap camera for 1st time in STR

Kolhapur: A two-year-old female black panther was caught on a trap camera in the core zone area of Chandoli National Park on Wednesday, for the first time in Sahyadri Tiger Reserve's (STR) history.Forest officials informed that several rare and endangered animals have been sighted in the STR since its formation on Jan 5, 2010, However, the STR had not recorded a black panther, ie, a ‘melanistic' leopard, up until Wednesday.Field director Tushar Chavan of STR, said, "Forest department personnel found a photograph of a black leopard captured on the trap camera in Chandoli National Park on Wednesday. Three different photographs were captured on April 20 and 21. A month ago, a tourist at the Chandoli National Park reported sighting a black leopard, but there has been no photographic evidence till now. This is a two-year-old female blank panther."A ‘black panther' is a leopard whose body colour is enhanced by the increase in the pigment ‘melanin'.