Karnataka Records Its First Ever Ultra Rare Colour Morph Leopard In The Wild

BENGALURU: A group of wildlife researchers engaged in estimation on leopard population in the wild in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka came across an ultra-rare color morph leopard exhibiting a pale reddish-pink coat resembling the hue of sandalwood with light brown rosettes making the leopard the first of its kind to be recorded in the State and second in the country.

Previously, such an ultra rare colour morph leopard, a single individual, was documented in Ranakpur region of Rajasthan in 2021. Internationally, leopards of this colour morph are referred to as "Strawberry Leopards." Such individual leopards have been sporadically recorded in South Africa and on a single occasion in Tanzania.

Conservation biologist and head of Holematthi Nature Foundation (HNF) Dr Sanjay Gubbi named this camera trapped ultra-rare leopard as “Sandalwood Leopard” to give the morph a native identity and reflect Karnataka’s cultural heritage.

The “Sandalwood Leopard” recorded in Vijayanagar is a female estimated to be about 7 years and in one of the images camera trapped showed a rare color morphed leopardess with a cub and the cub displays a normal coat colouration and black rosettes.

Gubbi pointed out “Another well-known leopard colour morph observed in India is the melanistic (black) leopard which is far more frequently reported than the “Sandalwood Leopard.”

Over the ultra-rare leopard recorded in Vijayanagara district by the team of researchers, Sanjay Gubbi explained most leopards possess tawny coats with black rosettes. But, this rare colour morph leopard's genetically unusual colouration is believed to result from genetic conditions involving either an excess of red pigmentation or a deficiency of dark pigmentation.

“While these features are distinctive, definitive confirmation of the exact genetic mechanism would require molecular analysis using DNA from non-invasive samples such as scat or hair. Until such genetic evidence is available, it is scientifically appropriate to describe this animal as a rare colour morph rather than assign a specific genetic condition,” Dr Sanjay Gubbi stated.

The documentation of ultra rare “Sandalwood Leopard” was carried out by HNF team comprising Sandesh Appu Naik, Shravan Suthar, Poornesha H.C., Ruma Kundarkar, Ravichandra Velip, Aishwarya Karanth and Mayur Mirashi.