Stories2 min(s) read
Published 08:31 01 Aug 2020 GMT
A tourist on his first-ever safari in India turned out to be in the exact right place at the right time was he was not only able to spot an incredibly rare black leopard, but also capture it on camera for the world to see.
The once in a lifetime snap was captured by 23-year-old engineering student Abhishek Pagnis during the second day of his trip.
Like many of us who have ever been on a safari, Pagnis, from Pune in western Maharashtra state, was probably hoping to walk away from his two-day trip having captured a sight so rare that it makes the entire world sit up and take notice.
However, where I managed to capture a giraffe 100-foot away behind a tree, Pagnis was able to capture one of the rarest sights in the natural world: a black leopard.
Sharing the incredible photo to his Facebook account, Pagnis recalled the painstaking wait he endured in order to capture the incredible sight.
"Tired from handling the camera all day for all the safaris, here I was on my last one and in the last hours.
"All drained from the shuttering of the cameras, capturing the stripped killer in the scorching heat. Moving on to the spot for something I was sure we won't see. With the sun being gone hours beyond our heads, the wait was on, hoping for at least a quick glance. Eyes running through every movement in the woods and ears all fixed on the barks of the deers."
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He continued: "Couple of hours passed and I am still hoping for a miracle before the dream run ends. And suddenly it all went quiet with all the deer heads focusing in the woods like they were guides. And there he was, an unnoticeable black figure moving uninterested in his prey.
"I rooted for the camera and positioned quickly on that spot, my mind and body all fired up forgetting. The melanistic leopard was there, just strolling unaware of his beauty. I zoomed at him and saw the bright eyes staring back with fading rosettes into blackness on his body.
"A sighting less than half an hour made the best moment of the safaris."
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The incredible images were captured during a two-day safari trip with his parents in Tadoba Reserve last June.
Usually, 10 safari trucks navigate the safari trail, but many had already left by the time the black leopard had appeared.
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Per Smithsonian Magazine, the dark coat of a black leopard is all down to melanism, with a recessive genetic mutation causing excess black pigment to darken the fur.
The article states: "The black cats are likely better concealed at night, but the variant may also allow cats to warm faster in the sun or even ward off certain parasites.
"But the trouble with being an all-black cat, a new study in PLOS ONE suggests, is that markings critical to feline communication get obscured."
Despite being remarkably rare, I'm sure we are all thankful to Pagnis for capturing the remarkable images and sharing them with the world.
