A black leopard has been spotted in Africa for first time in 100 years and captured in a series of stunning photograhs by an intrepid snapper.
The creature – of almost mythical status – was captured on film by Will Burrard-Lucas using specialist equipment including wireless motion sensors and high-quality DSLR cameras.
In a blog post, he tells how he first encountered a black leopard after spending three days searching the Kabini Forest in India.
Burrard-Lucas was then told of a black leopard at the Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Kenya – an area not known for the creature.
After finding tracks, he set up a Camtraptions Camera Trap for several nights until he captured a pair of eyes surrounded by inky darkness. These were later revealed to be that of black leopard.
“Over the days that followed I moved the camera traps around as I gained a deeper understanding of the leopard’s movements. The next hit I got was further down on the same game trail as the first capture,” he explained.
“Thereafter the black leopard disappeared and I started capturing images of a big spotty male instead – apparently he had chased away the younger black leopard.”
Published in the African Journal of Ecology, the photos represent the first scientific documentation of such a creature in Africa in nearly a century.
The leopard’s appearance is attributed to melanism - the development of the dark-coloured pigment melanin in the skin or hair of animals.
While 11 per cent of leopards alive today are thought to be melanistic, most are found in South-east Asia where tropical forests offer an abundance of shade.
Before Burrard-Lucas's picture, the only confirmed sighting of a black leopard in Africa was a photograph taken in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1909.
See more of Will's photographs on his Instagram account here.
And read his story in his own words here.