Big, Black Cat Causes Conservation Flutter
Team of wildlife experts spots & photographs jaguar-like animal in
Arunachal forest
The sighting of a "black panther" at the Pakke Tiger Reserve in
Arunachal Pradesh has become the talking point in wildlife
conservation circles. A team of experts from the Wildlife Institute of
India (WII), Dehradun, and forest officials of Arunachal Pradesh
captured the rare animal last month, albeit only on camera.
Although the team is certain that the animal caught on camera is a
black panther, the discovery has yet to be officially announced.
Experts want to ascertain the exact species to which it belongs before
making an announcement.
"Black panther is a term that does not denote any particular species
of cat.
Instead, it refers to any all-black feline that is large
enough to be counted as a big cat," said S.P. Goyal, a WII scientist.
The Pakke Tiger Reserve, 40 km from Seijosa under East Kameng district
in Arunachal Pradesh, is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.
The newly discovered animal is believed to be an entirely new species
of black panther. "Going by grainy photographs of the animal, it has
small, round ears. The tail and body are quite long. It has canine
teeth relative to body size and peculiar to big cats," Goyal added.
Goyal led the team of scientists that spotted the panther.
"The animal was a four-foot-long black panther-like beast. Genetic
tests could not be conducted as we could not capture the animal. But
the physical features indicate that it is a member of a rare species
of black panther, which is very rarely sighted in the jungles of this
region," Goyal said.
Residents of Seijosa call the animal shonyi nyohi, which means "black
creature". A black leopard was spotted in the same area in 2001.
Forest officials tranquillised the animal and captured it.
A black panther was sighted in the region for the first time in 1927.
Residents of the Lushai Hills of Mizoram saw the animal roaming about
in a forest, which was later confirmed by conservationists.
The seven-member team that went on the expedition in Arunachal Pradesh
had four scientists from the WII and three officials of the forest
department.
A.S. Negi, the national observer of tiger estimation, Tana Tapi,
divisional forest officer of the Pakke Tiger Reserve, and Tamo Deda, a
staff member, were in the team.
The Telegraph, Calcutta: 30th April 2007