Spotting wildlife in their natural habitats can be one of the most beautiful experiences. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan shared a video of a black panther that he spotted in Kurseong.
Kaswan said that the animal is the 'Bagheera of Kurseong'. The post has garnered more than 99.7K views on X with more than 4.6K likes and nearly 530 reshares. The post is captioned, "This black Panther from North Bengal. Bagheera of Kurseong. What a beauty."
In a following post, Kaswan shared more about black panthers. He wrote, "In India, a black panther is a melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus). These animals appear black due to a genetic condition called melanism, which results in excess dark pigmentation. Despite their dark coats, their characteristic leopard rosettes are often visible under certain lighting conditions."
Speaking of their natural habitat, Kaswan said that black panthers are primarily found in the dense, tropical forests of states like Karnataka (Kabini Forests), Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, and parts of the Northeast.
Watch the video here:
He added, "They are elusive and solitary, making sightings rare and fascinating. As top predators, they play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of their ecosystems. Conservation efforts are vital for their survival, as they face threats like habitat loss and poaching."
Several users took to the comment section to share their thoughts. One of the users wrote, "There is something quite majestic about the black panther, thank you for sharing Parveen."
Another user commented, "It's absolutely breathtaking :)" A third commented, "WOW , since you mentioned that sighting them is rare, this is a lucky sighting."
One of the comments read, "Certainly as beautiful as the Bengal Tiger. Perhaps, more attractive than that. Thanks for the clip."