MP: In rare sight, black panther cub seen with leopard mother in MP forest

Bhopal: The Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya Pradesh, believed to have inspired the English novelist Rudyard Kipling to author ‘The Jungle Book’, has hogged limelight when a wildlife photographer captured a rare picture of a black panther cub in the company of its leopard mother in the reserve forest.

The video of the rare sight taken by wildlife photographer Manu Dubey last week was shared on social media by the PTR along with a caption that read, “A rare sight in the wild”.

“Witness the stunning beauty of nature with this incredible photo of a black panther alongside her leopard mother. Black panthers, a melanistic variant of leopards, are incredibly rare and elusive. Their unique black coats result from a genetic mutation, giving them a striking and mysterious appearance”, a post by PTR on social media said.

The black panther cub has been identified as Bagheera, the offspring of a male black panther and normal female leopard.

“The cub along with its leopard mother was spotted near Jandimatta pond under Turia zone, the core area of Pench Tiger Reserve. The gender of the cub is yet to be ascertained”, PTR deputy director Rajneesh Singh told this newspaper on Friday.

According to him, two black panthers were spotted in PTR in 2021. But, since then, the two black beauties were not seen in PTR.

“The black panther cub suddenly popped up in the Turia zone around three months back. The cub got bolder with growth in age and is sighted frequently in the last three months”, Mr Singh said.

In the video taken by the wildlife photographer, the cub was spotted walking gracefully to a nearby pond and sipping water amid sounds of chirpings by birds. The cub then was seen returning to the leopard mother and sitting alongside her.

“The PTR has become a favourite destination of wildlife tourists because of its thriving diverse and vibrant wildlife as well as frequent sightings of black panthers which validates the connection between PTR and Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’”, Mr Singh said.