These are some truly unique locations.
Black leopards are a rarity, and black leopards with visible spots are even more rare. Then, when photographer Anurag Gawande, 24, saw such a beautiful creature during a safari in India’s Tadoba National Park this month, he knew he had been blessed with a very lucky photo.
“It was surprising because we thought we would see a tiger, but we saw a black leopard walking along the way,” Gawande told the Daily Mail when he found himself just 10 meters from the leopard.
Approximately 11% of leopards have a pigmentation condition, known as “melanistic”, which turns the coat and skin black, according to the Daily Mail. Unfortunately, the unique genetic event has made these creatures the target of poachers, and only 12,000 to 14,000 are believed to still populate India.
He managed to capture several photos of the animal, which he says is the only black leopard in Tadoba National Park, after he failed to catch a deer and stopped on the red clay road.
“He went back to the road and stayed there for 15 to 20 minutes, and we had an incredible photo of the majestic animal.”
Their meeting this month was not Gawande’s first: he also met her last year, but that didn’t make the most recent meeting less special.
“It was the second time I watched it,” he said. “I felt the same emotion when I saw him, but this time I was aware of the moment. We kept our vehicle off and far enough away that it wouldn’t move. “
In 2019, a photographer also made headlines when photographing a black leopard at Kenya’s Laikipia Wilderness Camp. Also in 2019, a rare leopard “strawberry” was photographed in South Africa.