Black leopards are incredibly rare, but sightings of one making a kill are rarer still. In this footage, that’s only the start of the drama.
Shaheen Patel submitted this rare footage to Latest Sightings. He filmed the footage while visiting Kenya’s Laikipia Wilderness Camp.
Black on black
Shaheen’s video opens to a scene most wildlife lovers would love to see. Its silky black coat barely visible against the surrounding darkness, a female black leopard has killed an impala lamb.
Thankfully, she is illuminated by a spotlight, allowing us to see the spotted pattern hidden in her silky coat. Also known as black panthers, black leopards have a recessive allele that causes their unique colour.
Alert for threats
As Shaheen told Latest Sightings, he first saw some hyenas chasing the impala when, suddenly, the leopard pounced from the darkness and caught the baby impala.
Even having made her kill, the leopard was on the alert. As a solitary predator, she was wary of scavengers that might try to steal her prize.
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Built for the darkness
Using both her acute hearing and eyesight, the leopard scanned the darkness. Like most cats, leopards hunt mainly at night, so their senses have evolved to allow them to operate in the darkness.
Miraculously, in the near-silence, she detects something that puts her nerves on edge. Consequently, she turns, hoping to get a better fix on the disturbance.
As she does, she stares into the inky night. Her eyes are specially evolved to gather all available light, enabling her to see up to eight times better in darkness than humans.
Meanwhile, the impala dangles from her jaws. Seemingly, she broke its neck when she attacked.
Threat detected
Subsequently, she starts lowering her head. Something has caught her eye, and the last thing she needs is to be caught unawares.
Then, as the threat closes in, she drops the carcass, snarling a warning to the unseen adversary.
Lions and hyenas frequently steal kills from leopards, using either brute strength or numbers to prevail over the smaller predator.
Time to go
However, her warning goes unheeded. Realising she is in serious danger, the leopard drops the impala and bolts.
As she does, a stream of urine escapes, suggesting she is terrified.
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A thief in the night
Seconds later, the threat reveals itself to be a big male leopard. Only this one sports the typical coloration of the species.
With no one left to oppose him, the male grabs the carcass and claims it as his own.
Effortlessly, he lifts the carcass, and, without missing a beat, he, too, disappears into the darkness.
A rare genetic mutation
Only 11% of leopards are born black. Researchers have recorded them in Kenya, but they are more common in southern Asia. Black or melanistic leopards result when two regular leopards, both of which carry the recessive gene, produce offspring.