It is called the shadow, before you realize it, it has slipped passed your sight, disappearing into the majestical landscape of the Laikipia wilderness. At night, it blends in effortlessly with the darkness. It is elusive, rare and at some point, mythical. It is the melanistic leopard of Northern Kenya.
The melanistic leopard, is proof of the treasure that we have here in Kenya. It has been seen by only a handful of lucky people and is a result of rare genetics.
This elusive cat was said to be a myth at one point as there was no one that was able to capture it on camera until 2018, although they were a few sightings many years before that.
One such account happened to come from my grandfather, who witnessed a melanistic leopard in the Aberdares many decades ago, when he was young.
This happened at the waterfalls where they had been fishing, hoping to get something for supper when he saw a leopard, unlike any other, it was as dark as a shadow. He then told the rangers about his encounter and they had said that one other person had claimed the same thing but they assumed it was an exaggeration. This shows that the sighting of a melanistic leopard at the time was unbelievable.
While rangers would have considered such accounts an exaggeration, given their constant interactions with wildlife and never having seen a melanistic leopard themselves, cultural tribes of northern Kenya think otherwise. The melanistic leopard, was seen as a guardian of the people, which was respected and would not dare be hunted due to its sacred value to the people.
There is science-backed research on this rare occurrence that leads to the melanistic trait, that is the mutation of a certain gene that leads to an overproduction of the dark pigment. This rare occurrence is a great adaptation for these creatures to keep themselves hidden, as they have for decades. There were reports from Aberdares and Mt. Kenya with no photograph to back the claims for years, until 2018 when a guy named Will Burrard-Lucas was able to capture a photograph of one in Laikipia, this is evidence that they have been there but were able to use their rare melanistic trait to their advantage.
The photograph opened the eyes of many people in Kenya, reminding them that not all gems in Kenya had been discovered. The discovery of this elusive animal brought the cultural myths passed on as stories down the generations, to life. Now, the melanistic leopard and its preservation is of great importance in conservation, to enable the future generations to be able to witness such mysterious legends.
It is therefore important to conserve the melanistic leopard and raise awareness on its importance, to help people understand the value it holds in our country. Not only the economic value, but the also the cultural value and the benefits it brings to the ecosystem. This can be done by educating and involving local communities in conservation efforts and highlighting the benefits of protecting such rare wildlife.
The melanistic leopard faces great threats from humans in Northern Kenya specifically, where there is a road proposed to cut through the Aberdares, rangelands expanding in the Laikipia area exposing these creatures to human-wildlife conflict and climate change, which combined with these other factors, possess a great threat to the melanistic leopard.
Although animal activists Kenya do not run any projects specific to Kenya, we are committed to conservation through awareness programs and community-based conservation. Support our mission by engaging with our campaigns, spreading awareness and standing with us as we strive to protect Kenya’s wildlife heritage.
–This article was written by Sumaiyah Yakub on behalf of Animal Activists Kenya