Rare Melanistic Black Panther Spotted In Odisha’s Sundargarh

Bhubaneswar: A rare melanistic leopard called the black panther, has been spotted in a forest in Garjan Hills, which is part of the Hemagiri forest range in Sundargarh district of Odisha.

The leopard was captured by trap cameras installed for the All Odisha Leopard Estimation-2024 survey, Sundargarh DFO Pradeep Kumar Mirase informed.

“With a protection squad, we have established camps in the forests. The rare melanistic leopard has been seen exploring the woodland on several occasions, spotted by the protection squad members,” said Mirase.

Forest officials said that more cameras would be installed in the coming days to keep a tab on the movement of the leopard.

All Odisha Leopard Estimation-2024 results reveal that the state has presence of black panthers in three forest divisions. The survey report was conducted across 47 forest divisions of Odisha, said sources.