How rare are black panthers in Africa? Only one has been photographed in more than 100 years

In many people's minds, black cats are always associated with mystery and spirituality , and big black cats are even more extraordinary. In the 2018 Marvel movie "Black Panther", the king of the fictional country Wakanda is called Black Panther, who has powerful superpowers.

Although Wakanda is based on an East African country, we cannot talk about Black Panther without mentioning Gabon in West Africa. There are two black panthers on Gabon’s national emblem, and the national football team’s mascot was also a black panther when it went to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2017. The black panther not only symbolizes strength, courage, and unity , but also represents the Gabonese government’s concern and commitment to environmental protection .

Black Panthers representing Gabon | bbc.com

Searching for black panthers in the dark jungle

Gabon has a population of about 2.3 million, mainly concentrated in cities, and 88% of its land area is covered by rainforest . It is connected with the rainforests of neighboring countries to form the second largest tropical rainforest in the world, the Congo Basin.

Rare animals such as African elephants and gorillas live here, and it is also the home of African leopards. The black leopards loved by the Gabonese people are the melanistic individuals of the African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus), not an independent species.

The mighty black panther | Darshan Ganapathy / wiki commons

At least 14 species of cats are known to undergo melanism, and the frequency depends on the specific species. In theory, all melanistic Panthera species other than lions and tigers—including leopards (P. pardus), jaguars (P. onca), and snow leopards (P. uncia)—can be called "black panthers." However, no melanistic snow leopards have been found so far, so when people mention black panthers, they generally refer to melanistic leopards and jaguars .

According to statistical research by Brazilian scientist Lucas Gonçalves da Silva, the probability of leopards and jaguars becoming melanistic is about 10% - although there are not that many black panthers in nature.

A black panther at Guangzhou Zoo, and its normal-colored companions, photographed in June 2021 | Maya Blue

The possibility of 10% is not low, but African leopards are active at night and hide during the day, and their whereabouts are secretive . It is very difficult for humans to find a black panther in the jungle at night.

For more than a hundred years, there has been only one reliable historical record of a wild black African leopard, a photo taken in Ethiopia in 1909. It was not until 2018 that researchers set up infrared cameras in Kenya and photographed a wild black African leopard again.

Black leopard photographed in Kenya in 2018 | Burrard-Lucas

Darkness, a superpower with a price

Silva's research also found that the incidence of melanism is close to the expected value only in humid forest areas ; in populations living in open, dry plains, melanistic individuals are extremely rare - this is why the Indochinese leopard (P. p. delacouri) living in Southeast Asia has the most melanistic individuals.

Black Indochinese leopard captured by infrared camera - in brighter light, we can still see the pattern hidden under the black fur of the black leopard | DWNP, Panthera and Rimba

To understand the impact of melanism on leopards’ survival, we have to start with their “original color”.

After a long period of evolution, lions that live in open areas have plain fur, while leopards and tigers living in forests have spotted and striped fur, all in order to better blend into the environment and increase their hunting success rate. For small cats, such fur color can also help them avoid larger predators.

Unlike humans, many mammals don't have color vision, so tigers' stripes help them blend in with the shadows of the jungle | Roger Smith / flickr.com

The black leopard has the maximum stealth buff ; however, this "superpower" also comes with a price.

Many tigers and leopards have conspicuous white patches behind their ears, which can be combined with ear movements to convey information. This feature is conspicuous enough in the dim jungle environment, but not easy to detect from a distance; this method of communication is especially important for cubs who rely on their mothers for survival. However, the black panther's ears do not have this white spot, which may affect the survival rate of its offspring.

The white patch behind the leopard's ear is also worth noting when you go to the zoo.

｜Kebs Visuals / pexels.com

The overall impact of melanism on the ability of individuals to survive in the wild is unclear. Perhaps it is precisely because of this delicate balance that melanism can exist stably in the leopard population - it has not been eliminated, but it has not become the mainstream.

Who says environmental protection is useless just by spending money?

Today, due to human activities, the leopard's habitat has shrunk to a quarter of its historical range. Among the several leopard subspecies, the African leopard south of the Sahara has the best survival condition, which is inseparable from the efforts of Central African countries such as Gabon and Congo.

On the one hand, Gabon's pillar industry is oil, and industries that may affect forests (such as agriculture, forestry, mining, etc.) account for a relatively small proportion of the economy, which is Gabon's inherent advantage. On the other hand, the Gabonese government has consciously invested funds in forest protection , such as building national parks and managing forestry with scientific methods. According to statistics, Gabon's forests can now absorb about 14,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, which can offset the environmental impact of 30 million cars.

Tropical rainforest in Loango National Park, Gabon | Gregoire Dubois / flickr.com

In June 2021, Gabon received $17 million from the United Nations Trust Fund "Central Africa Forest Initiative", becoming the first African country to receive financial compensation for protecting forests . The bonus will be used to support forest patrols, ecological protection area operations and rural development.

Gabon’s strong support for environmental protection is inseparable from its emphasis on science and people’s love for black panthers. This is probably the real “superpower” of black panthers.

References

[1] United Nation (2021): Gabon becomes the first African country to receive payment for reducing CO2 emissions.

[2] United Nation (2022): Why Gabon is a model of environmental conservation.

[3] United Nations (2021): [Special Report] UN Fund pays Gabon US$17 million in recognition of its efforts to protect forests.

[4] Nationalgeographic (2019): Black leopard confirmed in Africa for first time in 100 years.

[5] Nationalgeographic (2019): Is being a black panther beneficial? It depends.

[6] da Silva LG (2017). Ecology and evolution of melanism in big cats: Case study with black leopards and jaguars. Big cats 6: 93–110.

[7] Pilfold NW et al. (2019). Confirmation of black leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) living in Laikipia County, Kenya. Afr. J. Ecol. 57(2): 270–273.

[8] Allen WL et al. (2011) Why the leopard got its spots: relating pattern development to ecology in felids. Proc. R. Soc. B. 278: 1373–1380.

[9] Loveridge AJ et al. (2022). Environmental and anthropogenic drivers of African leopard Panthera pardus population density. Biol. Conserv. 272: 109641.

Author: Maya Blue

Editor: Old Cat

Cover image source: Darshan Ganapathy / Wiki Commons

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