KENYA, Africa (WSVN) — Cameras captured video of a rare black leopard wandering around in Kenya.
The San Diego Zoo announced that their remote cameras captured the feline in Lorok, Laikipia County in Kenya.
The cameras were set up as part of a large-scale study aimed at understanding the population dynamics of leopards in the Mpala and Loisaba Conservancies.
“Regionally, we’ve heard reports of black leopards living here in Kenya, but high-quality footage or imagery to support these observations has always been missing,” said Dr. Nicholas Pilfold.
Pilfold told CNN that the last confirmed observation of the black leopard was in 1909.
The San Diego Zoo said African leopards have the largest range of any subspecies of leopard. However, instances of melanism, which this leopard had, are rare.
Melanism is a gene mutation where the coat appears completely black in the daytime.
African leopards are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
Habitat loss and fragmentation, conflict with farmers, hunting and other factors have contributed to their declines. However, the total extent of the decline is unknown.
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