13 yrs on, melanistic leopard cat clicked in Sundarbans
Times of India | 31 December 2025
Kolkata: A melanistic leopard cat — a rare genetic variant of the elusive lesser cat — has been spotted in the Indian Sundarbans during the camera-trap exercise to enumerate tigers in 2024-25.
Foresters scanning images stopped in their tracks after spotting a black cat with a long tail — something that's rarely seen in the mangroves. After comparing it with old photographs and literature, foresters identified it as a melanistic leopard cat. A similar image was clicked in the Indian Sundarbans way back in Feb 2012, when foresters felt it could be a mystery species.
They have more black pigmentation on their body than the normal colour. Genetic mutations can lead to an increase in the amount of melanin in the skin, fur, feathers and even scales in a condition known as melanism. Black panthers or melanistic Similipal tigers are the best examples of melanistic cats.
The findings have been published in the international journal of conservation Oryx. "Recorded across six locations during the 2024-2025 camera-trap survey, these images reveal a wider distribution of this rare morph than previously known," said Rajendra Jakhar, field director of Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and one of the authors of the study. The other two authors are Justine Jones, deputy field director at STR and Debojyoty Ghosh, a research assistant.
The findings highlight the species' nocturnal activity and its persistence despite habitat pressures, said the report. "The images were recorded from six locations in the South 24 Parganas forest division, suggesting a wide distribution of the melanistic form. The times of the photographs (7pm-3am) indicate nocturnal activity, aligning with the known behaviour of leopard cats, which are typically solitary, nocturnal hunters," said Jakhar.
While the report claimed this is the first photographic documentation of melanistic leopard cats in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, WWF-India's Sundarbans chapter head, Anurag Danda, said that a melanistic leopard cat was spotted in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve during a similar exercise in 2012. "That was the first comprehensive camera trap exercise in the Indian Sundarbans. This is not unusual since the offsprings of the leopard cat/s carrying the melanistic trait can well turn out to be melanistic, too," he added.