Black leopards successfully ambushed the antelope, but then had to give up their prey to their fellow humans and run away.
Guide Shaheen Patel and lucky tourists encountered black leopards during an evening excursion in Kenya, Latest Sightings reported on December 20. Patel said, at that time, an impala mother and daughter were frightened by two striped hyenas and ran out of hiding in the dark.
“The weak young antelope was extremely scared and confused. It ran across the dusty ground in a panic. Then, a black shadow suddenly appeared, grabbed it and knocked it down,” Patel said. When he looked closely, he and the tour group realized it was a rare black leopard.
“We were amazed at the scene before us. We not only saw the rarest cat in Africa, but also witnessed it successfully hunt a young antelope,” said Patel.
However, black panthers don’t hold onto their prey for long, Patel said. “An ordinary male leopard follows the trail of the black leopard and takes over the young antelope carcass. Meanwhile, the black leopard turns and runs away. It just disappears. Suddenly emerges from the darkness and then reappears again. disappeared into the night,” he said.
Leopards ( Panthera pardus ) hunt in an ambush fashion and will camouflage when stalking prey. This helps them get close to their prey and then attack without spending a lot of energy chasing.
Black leopards are not much different from common leopards. The biggest difference is in the genes. Black panthers carry a genetic mutation that causes them to overproduce melanin, resulting in their normally yellow coat turning black. The characteristic fur patterns are still present in black leopards, but are masked by excessive amounts of melanin.
