Scientists confirm black panthers spotted near fictional setting of ‘Black Panther’ movie

Scientists this week discovered rare black leopards, also known as black panthers, in Laikipia County, Kenya, near the fictional setting of Marvel’s Oscar-nominated “Black Panther.”

“Our researchers spotted rare black leopards–sometimes called black panthers–in Laikipia County, Kenya,” the San Diego Zoo tweeted Monday.  

Our researchers spotted rare black leopards–sometimes called black panthers–in Laikipia County, Kenya. Learn more: https://t.co/Vwd5D7CAqI 

Photo by @willbl

Thanks to our partners @LaikipiaCountyG @kwskenya @nature_org  @Loisaba pic.twitter.com/kN25d6beUg

— San Diego Zoo (@sandiegozoo) February 12, 2019

“Regionally we’ve heard reports of black leopards living here in Kenya, but high-quality footage or imagery to support these observations has always been missing,” zoo scientist Nicholas Pilfold said in a news release. “That’s what we’ve provided here with our cameras, and now we’re able to confirm what has been long suspected about black leopards living in Laikipia County.”

The footage marks the confirmed sighting of black panthers in Africa in almost 100 years, Pilford said in an Instagram post. {mosads}

“Black panthers are uncommon, only about 11% of leopards globally are black,” he wrote. “But black panthers in Africa are extremely rare.”

Until now, only one reported observation of the species in Africa had been confirmed. The report came from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, in 1909.

The footage was captured on remote cameras set up as part of a broad study to understand the interactions of leopard populations in Mpala and Loisaba Conservancies, the San Diego Zoo said.

African leopards are listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species due to habitat loss and hunting, as well as competition for prey.