In Laikipia, Kenya, on the 11th of February, Will Burrard-Lucas, an accomplished wildlife photographer captured a series of high-quality trap of a wild melanistic leopard otherwise known as the black panther.
The pictures are majestic and it is the first time the animal has been photographed in Africa since 1909. This according to Nick Pilfold, a global conservation scientist at the San Diego Zoo.
The female leopard’s coat is pitch black due to melanism, a gene mutation that results in over-production of pigment. It’s the opposite of albinism. And although the leopard’s rocking a black coat during the day, its rosette patterns are visible in nighttime infrared imagery.
The black panther was spotted close to the area where the movie 'Black Panther' was filmed.
“The images were captured at Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Kenya, using [self-made] Camtraptions camera traps,” Burrard-Lucas told Bored Panda. “Each trap is made up of a Camtraptions motion sensor, which wirelessly triggers a high-quality DSLR or mirrorless camera and two or three flashes. I leave these cameras on game paths for days or even weeks at a time in order to photograph elusive animals. The technique also allows me to set up studio-like lighting in order to capture striking images of animals at night.”
The biggest challenge for the photographer was deciding where to put his camera traps. “When I heard that a black leopard had been seen up at Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Kenya my ears pricked up and I contacted the owners, Steve and Annabelle Carey, to find out more.”
“Steve confirmed that it was true and he had seen several black leopards over the years. On arrival in Laikipia, Steve took me to meet Luisa Ancilotto who lived close to the camp and had seen a black leopard recently. She told us as much as she knew about the leopard’s habits and territory.”
“Then Steve managed to pick up some fresh leopard tracks nearby and followed them to a path that leopards seemed to be using. I set up my camera traps up on this trail and it was there that I captured my first image of the black leopard.”
The black panther walking through his natural habitat.
This is one of the many cameras set up by Will.
The cameras were camouflaged so as not to attract the attention of the panther.
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