If you have been an ardent follower of ours on social media or generally follow news on Kabini, chances are you will have heard tell of this rare, beautiful treasure that Kabini holds. While big cats are always a special sight during a safari in Kabini, sighting a black panther is all that more special.
What is it about Black panthers that makes everyone’s heart race? Of course, we have always had an association with them thanks to the role of Bagheera in The Jungle Book. Kipling knew best; Bagheera was a silent, quirky but beautiful cat in his own right. In this post, we’ll talk about their uniqueness. With luck, during your stay at our luxury resort in Kabini, you might just get to sight a glimpse of him during your jungle safari in Kabini.
So what are black panthers?
In the wild, nature is usually pristine in her evolution and her natural selection. The natural world exhibits a form of symmetry and perfection that us humans can seldom ever replicate. But often, even the natural world is prone to creating happy accidents, and black panthers are one such accident. These magnificent leopards are a biological anomaly that occur due to a mishap in gene expression known as melanism. When one variant of a gene overrides another variant of the same type of gene in your body, you get what is known as an allele.
In the case of black panthers, a recessive allele is responsible for a black pigment overriding the ordinary yellow-brown pigment in the leopard’s fur. It is estimated that nearly 11% of the panther population exhibits melanism. But to drive home the point; black panthers are simply the same as non-black leopards but happened to have a happy little accident in nature and now have a coat made of beautiful jet black instead. It is also posited that black panthers have an evolutionary advantage in some regions; their dark coat allows them to be near invisible in denser forests. But did you know? If you look closely at a black panther or see a picture that was taken with the flash, you can still see the rosettes of the leopard! This is also speculated to be a genetic benefit to the leopard, offering it some mutations in its immune system.
Black panther in Kabini:
Kabini is home to Saya, a single male black panther. This solitary male has been the star attraction in Kabini now. Like all leopards, he is shy and prefers the comfort of a tree to sleeping in the ground. Like all leopards you will seldom hear him. But on a jungle safari in Kabini, you might just hear the alarm call of a spotted deer just in time. Stay at Red Earth Kabini, our luxury resort in Kabini, where our inhouse naturalists will most definitely teach you the ways of the wild So that you may attempt to find the enigma of the jungle on his own terms and seek an audience!
