Although melanistic leopards are not all that uncommon in captivity, I would imagine they are a very rare sight in the wild. Has any one every seen one while on a hunt? Can they be hunted or are there gov. laws or tribal/ritual beliefs or protection for them?

i have never seen one in the flesh but they are well documented in certain parts of south africa and i have seen a picture in an old hunting book of one shot in the soutpansberg SA. To the best of my knowledge there is no tribal/folklore against shooting them. Personally i think a normal leopard is far prettier

I saw one about 10 years ago when I was hunting the Selous with my old friend Peter Lang. - It was the middle of the day and the cat must have been laying in the long grass and he spooked as we drove close by. Peter spotted him a second before I did.......... An incredible sight.

I don't know of a country where it would be illegal to hunt one.

According to our friend Rich Elliott, black leopards are not very rare in Ethiopia and can be hunted. I'd like his opinion.


his website :
ethiopian rift valley safaris

Funnily enough, I hunted with a Texan a couple of years ago who had spent a few years living in Ethiopia, and he'd shot a black Leopard whilst he was there......

You would be crazy not to take one. I think they look great. Their spots are still visible.

Seems to me that USF&W will not permit the import of any black leopards.

Mark

Surely that'd be racist!

I believe the Ethiopian highlands have the highest density of melanistic leopards.

Nassos Roussos took one with an Italian client a few years back.

My parents have a fairly dark, almost black pelt shot by my grandfather in Ethiopia. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures handy but it is the only time I have seen such partial colouring...

I think the San Diego zoo has one, at least they did about 10 years ago.

Here's the one Boghossian refered to:


The incedence remains at around 20%. We only hunt 3 cats per year and they are so big that even the clients hunting for a black one can't resist and shoot the big spotted ones that come...in broad daylight!

Rich Elliott

Thanks Rich. I find the melanistic cats to be very interesting. PM to you.

What a beautiful animal!

Like many, I have always thought that the leopard, whether spotted or black, is the most beautiful of all African game.

Thanks for posting that terrific photo.

I've only heard of melanistic leopards and jaguars. I need to do some more research on that. I don't believe this happens to lions or other cats like mountain lions. Anyone know?

yukon
Saw a show the other night (which prompted the original question) that said mountain lions and bobcats in the melanstic phase do happen in the wild although not frequently. Never heard of an African lion but wouldn't that be spectacular?

I did some quick checking (would love to hear from others who have done good research) and to my knowledge, no melanistic lion has ever been observed or confirmed. I have found reports of partially black lions but they apparently had skin cell disorders that resulted in small patches of dark skin or hair.

As to the bobcats, I found a few reports of them, particularly in Florida, but have seen no photos yet. Anyone have a photo?

As to mountain lions, nothing has been confirmed and some of the reports turned out to be jaguars in the southern states or dark coatamundis.

The black mountain lions have been included on lists of cryptids (mythical beasts that people search for such as Bigfoot, Loch Ness monsters, etc).

I've heard of the famous white lions in RSA but never a lack one.

If they exist a full maned male would be quite a sight...

Rgds,
FB

Lets not give the lion breeders an incentive in this respect!

I think the black gene pool is more common in the So. American Jaguar if I'm not mistaken..read that somewhere...

I did see a very dark but not black female Leopard, almost a chocolate color. It was in the summer so maybe the sun had bleached her out. I know black horses and dogs bleach out in the sun.????????