There are reports of a forest range officer (FRO) spotting a black panther in Karnataka's Nagarhole Tiger Reserve (NTR) on Monday, July 5. Wildlife officials say the panther is probably 4 to 5 years old, but the sex could not be determined. Sighting the big cat assumes significance because two photographs of a black panther from Kabini in Mysuru district tweeted by popular Twitter account @earth have recently taken social media by storm. The forest officials however could not confirm if the animal in the widely-circulated photographs is the same as the one spotted on Monday.
Meanwhile, renowned artist and photographer Shaaz Jung, who has been working on the elusive cat in Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary for years, has garnered thousands of retweets and over 2 lakh likes on his images.
In India, these big cats are rarely spotted, and hence are also called &lsquoghosts of the forest&rsquo. They can be found in Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary, Anshi Dandeli Sanctuary (Karnataka), Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (Tamil Nadu) and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra). Earlier this year, towards the end of May, Chhattisgarh forest department officials had reported a rare sighting of a black panther captured on their camera traps at Achanakmar Tiger Reserve in Bilaspur district, after around seven years.