Tagged: melanism

Black leopard

Black leopard picture – where, what and how

People search for a ‘black leopard picture’. Here are some good ones. Leopards can often have the appearance of being jet black but they are not. Sometimes a black leopard is very dark with...

Melanistic, black Bengal cat

The Russian breeder, Лариса Десятова, of this very interesting-looking black purebred cat describes him as a: ?‍♀️ Bengali male ?‍♀️ melanistic, born 30/11/20/. I believe that she means “Bengal male”. There is no breed...

Black leopard

Are leopards and black panthers the same?

Yes, leopards and black panthers are the same but I have to add that the phrase “black panthers” refers to any melanistic (black) large wild cat. As a consequence it also applies to jaguars...

Black Geoffroy's cat

Pictures of a black Geoffroy’s cat

The four subspecies of Geoffroy’s cat vary considerably in colour variation and size. Unlike most other wild cat species (all other wild cat species, perhaps) black Geofroy’s cats are common. These are called melanistic...

Melanistic cheetah

Can cheetahs be black?

Yes, cheetahs CAN (i.e. theoretically) be black but there aren’t any today, in my opinion. Black cheetahs have been recorded but they are extremely rare. White cheetahs have also been recorded but they are...

Black serval

Picture of black serval by George Benjamin

This is a really excellent photograph of a black (melanistic) serval in the wild taken by British wildlife photographer George Turner. He used a Nikon D5 camera with a 500 mm, F4 lens. The...

Black serval in Tanzania

Can servals be black?

The picture below is of a black serval taken by a camera trap in the Kilimanjaro area of Tanzania. It is the first picture of a black serval that I have seen in Tanzania....

Can bobcats be black?

Yes bobcats can be black but they are very rare. I think there have been twelve reported sightings, the majority in Florida. A better description is ‘melanistic’ which is more like dark charcoal. Bobcats...

Black Panther Pictures

This page is about black panther pictures from any legitimate source plus information about the black panther. Over 150 years ago many eminent scientists of the day believed the panther to be a separate...

Jaguarundi in its biome

Wild Cats That Are Black

“Wild cats that are black” is a Google search term. Bar one (that I can think of) no wild cat species is black as a default or standard coat color. The jaguarundi has a...

Black Serval Picture

This is a very rare photograph of a black serval. This particular cat looks young to me (subadult). When I first saw the photograph I thought, “what is that?” A strange looking cat. The...


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