Panthers: India
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Black panthers
2018: Sighting at Shivanzari/ Tadoba-Andhari Reserve
Vijay Pinjarkar, May 24, 2018: The Times of India
The Sighting of a black panther in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is rare as they are generally found in evergreen forests like the Western Ghats
From: Vijay Pinjarkar, May 24, 2018: The Times of India
Excited over the historic first direct sighting of a black panther in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve on Tuesday, its management is launching an intensive search operation by installing more camera traps that will cover a larger area. Earlier, on three occasions, a black panther was only captured on camera traps. An expert added that this could be the first sighting in Central India too.
As reported by TOI on Wednesday, a lucky Belgian family of five got the rare sighting of the black panther at a waterhole in Shivanzari area of the Kolsa range on Tuesday evening around 5.15pm. Tadoba field director Mukul Trivedi confirmed that the carnivore was recorded on its camera trap at 6.08pm at the same spot.
“It is a unique sighting as black panthers are generally found in evergreen forests like Western Ghats and Dandeli-Anshi in Karnataka. A sighting in Tadoba, which is a dry deciduous forest, calls for attention,” said Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) scientist Bilal Habib.
Apart from installing camera traps, the Tadoba management is also going in for scat collection which will be sent for DNA testing. More field staff will be deployed and they will cover a lot more area on foot for further monitoring.
Habib said that a leopardess with its two cubs were photographed on a camera trap on March 1, 2014. The coat of one of the cubs was darker than the other. The same individual was photographed again on March 3 and on April 7, 2014 during camera trapping exercise. Both sightings were in Shivanzari area.
“Only with further photographic proof will it be known if the panther spotted on Tuesday is the same one of four years ago or a new one,” said Trivedi, adding, “Its gender too is not known”.
Interestingly, the black panther finds no mention in the management plan (2017-2027) of Tadoba. The management plan was compiled in 2006 but approved by the NTCA only in 2017 after many changes. The plan is supposed to chronicle all the wildlife of a park.
“I joined in August last year and thought the black panther would be mentioned in the plan. We will now add it in the list of animals during the midterm review,” said Trivedi.
TOI talked to past field directors but they did not confirm the sighting of a black panther. PCCF (production & management) SH Patil, who wrote the plan and was Tadoba field director from 2004-09, said, “I didn’t sight it nor I was told about it.”
Ex-PCCF VK Sinha worked in TATR from 2010-12 said though he had heard about a sighting there were no photographic evidence. “Around that time camera trapping was launched extensively but the animal was never captured,” he said.
CCF Virendra Tiwari, who was field director (2012-2014), too said he never heard about it. “Even the field had never sighted one,” he said.
Retired DFO GK Vashishtha, who spent most of his service in Tadoba, too said he had never sighted the animal. “If it was caught on camera in 2014 and now sighted after 4 years, it is possible it might be different individual. Since intensive camera trapping is done in the core areas, the animal would surely have been captured on camera,” he said.
Only ex-CCF GP Garad (2014-17) confirmed about the WII camera trap picture. “I was shown the March 2014 picture of black panther cub from Shivanzari but did not pay heed to it as it was not a new animal species but a case of melanism, which can occur anywhere. It is possible the same leopard has grown up now,” said Garad.
Trivedi says more cameras have been installed in Shivanzari. “Generally, black panthers are solitary animals and genetically not so healthy. We will find out if there are more individuals,” he added.
Even wildlife experts claimed this was perhaps the first record. “I have heard about an albino leopard in Pench, but have not come across any records of a black panther,” said Kishor Rithe, president of Melghat-based Satpuda Foundation.
