Managers of the
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve obtained photographic evidence of a
pseudo-melanistic leopard. Earlier, a melanistic spotted deer was
photographed. Though no photographic evidence has been obtained, black
panthers too are said to have been spotted.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article3658858.ece
 |
| Pseudo-melanistic Leopard |
Melanism found in some animals at the Parambikulam
forests in Palakkad district of Kerala has caught the imagination of
wildlife enthusiasts. While the leopard was caught on cameras installed for monitoring the tiger, the deer was photographed by a forest official.
The
black spots on the leopard were found closely packed to give it a
designer coat. In the case of the deer, the white spots on its reddish
fawn coat were overshadowed by the black pigmentation, giving the animal
a blackish appearance.
Detailed genetic analysis could not be
held as fresh pellet samples were unavailable and the animal was lost
in the wild, he says. The tiger reserve is in the southern part of the Western Ghats, down the Palakkad Gap.
It
is located between the Anamalai hills and the Nelliampathy hills and
the natural vegetation of the area includes tropical evergreen,
semi-evergreen, moist mixed deciduous and dry mixed deciduous forests
and moist bamboo brakes and reed brakes.
A.J.T.
Johnsingh, former Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun,
says melanism can be seen more in the evergreen habitat of the Western
Ghats where the interiors of the forests are dark.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment