A leopard cannot change its spots, but can still sport a designer look.
A leopard with black spots that resemble a ‘mehandi’ design was spotted at the Parambikkulam Tiger Reserve in Palakkad district recently.
The leopard was photographed by the camera traps set up at the Reserve, said V. Gopinath, Chief Wildlife Warden of the Kerala Forest Department.
Wildlife experts say that it could be a case of pseudo-melanism or even a quick change in camouflage to suit the habitat.
P.O. Nameer, Head, Centre for Wildlife Studies, College of Forestry, Thrissur, was of the view that the photographed animal was a pseudo-melanistic one. In such cases, the black spots on the golden-brown skin of the animal would be densely packed.
The black spots would merge to obscure the background colour of the skin. The closely packed black spots in the photographed animal seemed to have formed into some interesting patterns, he said.
Normal leopards would have golden-yellow coat with small, closely set black spots called rosettes. In leopards with increased presence of melanin in skin, the black colour would dominate, giving the impression that the animal has a black coat. Such leopards are called black panthers, he explained.
Though Black Panthers were not uncommon in Kerala forests, a pseudo-melanistic leopard was quite rare and this could be the first confirmed sighting of the animal from the State, he said. E.A. Jayson, Head of the Wildlife Department of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, said the sighted animal could be a melanistic one or was even having a quick change in camouflage to suit its habitat. Melanism could be caused by genetic mutation. White tigers and black leopards were examples for the phenomenon, he said.
It had been reported that leopards exhibit a range of colour and pattern variations. Studies had indicated that leopards living in desert areas tend to be pale yellow in colour whereas those inhabiting grasslands had a deeper golden colour. Detailed studies were needed to reach a convincing conclusion, Dr. Jayson said.
Mr. Gopinath said the animal would be closely watched for finding out whether it was a case of genetic mutation. No genetic studies are planned on the animal right now. However, efforts would be taken to sight the animal again, he said.
‘No subspecies’
Mr. Nameer ruled out the possibility of a taxonomic distinctiveness in this case.
There was no possibility of the animal belonging to a separate subspecies.
For a subspecies to evolve, there should be geographical isolation of the species from the rest of the habitats for millions of years.
There was no such isolation in Parambikkulam area that was part of a contiguous forest ecosystem.
The leopards found in the Indian sub-continent belonged to the species Panthera pardus, he said.
Dr. Jayson also felt that the possibility of the sighted leopard belonging to a subspecies was very remote.
Studies were needed to check whether more such individuals existed in the locality. Genetic studies also needed to reach any conclusion as this was just one observation about a biological feature, he said.
