Rare black panther spotted in Odisha forest

Odisha has recorded the presence of a rare melanistic leopard, popularly known as the black panther, in a forest in Garjan Hills under the Hemagiri forest range of Sundargarh district. The beast was captured by trap cameras installed in the forest for the All Odisha Leopard Estimation-2024 survey.

“For all Odisha leopard estimation, we had set up trap cameras in the forests. Interestingly, the camera traps have captured a new guest, a black panther at a forest in Garjan Hills under Hemgiri forest range of Sundargarh district,” informed Pradeep Kumar Mirase, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Sundargarh.

“We have set up camps in the forests with a protection squad. Even the members of the protection squad have spotted it multiple times wandering around in the forest. It is good news for all of us,” he added.

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The DFO further added that more cameras would be installed in the coming days to keep a tab on the movement of the black panther.

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

“During the leopard estimation, we have found the presence of black panthers in three forest divisions of the state in western and central Odisha. Since the black panther is a rare species, we are not revealing where they have been spotted as there are chances of poachers targeting them,” a senior official stated.