Unusual big Cat of Africa and Asia.
Scientific name: Panthera pardus var. melanotica,
based on the Grahamst own specimen.
Variant names: Damasia (Gikuyu/Bant u, in
Kenya), Kibambangwe, Ndalawo, Shing Mun
Physical description: Leopard with dark coat
patterns that are dist inct from the melanist ic,
Distribution: Aberdare Highlands, Kenya;
Bufumbira Count y, sout hwest Uganda;
Virunga Volcanos region of Rwanda; East ern
Cape Province, Sout h Africa; Kerala St at e,
India; Bali, Indonesia; and Hong Kong, China.
Significant sightings: A pseudomelanist ic leopard
was shot near Grahamst own, East ern Cape
Province, Sout h Africa, in t he 1880s. It had a
t awny background color, wit h an orange gloss
on t he shoulders. Small spot s coalesced on it s
back t o form a solid black color from head t o
t ail. The underpart s looked like a t ypical leopard’s
(whit e wit h large spot s). It s t ot al lengt h
was 6 feet 7 inches.
Anot her specimen was killed in Kerala St at e,
sout hwest ern India, in 1912. The roset t es were
fused int o a solid black over t he ent ire upper
G. Hamilt on-Snowball shot a large, dark
leopard in t he Aberdare Highlands, Kenya, in
t he 1920s. The local Gikuyu people t old him it
was called a Damasia and was different from a
A mounted leopard, supposedly obt ained in
Belize, is on display at t he Wildlife World Museum
in Springfield, Missouri. It s background
color is a very dark reddish-brown.
Present status: Melanist ic Leopards (Panthera
pardus) have an abnormally dark background
color, but t he roset t es are st ill visible under
proper light ing condit ions or up close. They are
common in Myanmar, peninsular Malaysia,
sout hern India, Java, sout hwest ern China, and
some part s of Nepal and Assam. Black leopards
are less common in Africa, t hough t hey have
been report ed in Et hiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and
Pseudomelanist ic leopards are known from
only a few specimens. The background color is
a normal orange-yellow, but t he roset t es are so
abundant t hat t hey have fused t oget her int o a
solid black color over port ions of t he coat . The
normal background color is somet imes visible in
t hin, irregular yellow st reaks. Though document
ed, t he pseudomelanist ic morph is not well
known and might be misint erpret ed as an unknown
animal if it is found unexpect edly.
Brown mutants are also on record.