The Cellar - Feb 16th, 2019 : Black Cat

Having a black cat cross your path is said to be a bad omen, bad luck, although in Germany it’s when they cross from right to left.
It’s definitely bad luck to piss off a black cat at the bar, ‘cause he’ll cut you, sucka. Uh-oh, that’s racist, I’m offended.
But it would take a lot of good luck to see this African Black Leopard.

http://cellar.org/img/blackcat2.jpg

There have been claims of sightings occasionally, even a photograph once is awhile, but they’re like the photographs of Bigfoot or
Sasquatch, far away, blurred, useless for identification. There hadn’t been a confirmed sighting since 1909 in Ethiopia.
Enter Nick Pilfold, a global conservation scientist at the San Diego Zoo, stage right.

Quote:

Pilfold said his team of biologists had placed remote cameras to track the leopard population near a conservancy area in Laikipia County last year when they heard reports of a possible black leopard sighting. "We intensified our camera placement in the area the reports were being made," he said Tuesday night. "Within a few months, we were rewarded with multiple observations on our cameras."

http://cellar.org/img/blackcat.jpg

Quote:

The leopard's coat is pitch black as a result of melanism, a gene mutation that causes an over-production of pigment, said Pilfold. It's the opposite of albinism -- and although the leopard's coat appears black during the day, its rosette patterns are visible in nighttime infrared imagery.
"Melanism occurs in about 11% of leopards globally, but most of these leopards live in South East Asia," said Pilfold.
Black panthers refer broadly to any melanistic leopard, jaguars and other big cats.

http://cellar.org/img/blackcat3.jpg

Quote:

Will Burrard-Lucas said he shot the images at Laikipia Wilderness Camp using a Camtraptions Camera, which focuses on wildlife photography and footage. The cameras were placed near animal trails, and water sources such as pools and natural springs. They were left on 24 hours a day in most places but were only turned on at night in public places, according to the African Journal of Ecology.
Leopards are described as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

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