(IN): Big, black cat causes conservation flutter

[Guest guest]

Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070430/asp/guwahati/story_7716008.asp

 

Big, black cat causes conservation flutter

- Team of wildlife experts spots & photographs jaguar-like animal in

Arunachal forest

 

ATONU CHOUDHURI

 

Itanagar, April 29: Black is beautiful. And mysterious, too.

 

The sighting of a " black panther " at the Pakke Tiger Reserve in

Arunachal Pradesh has become the talking point in wildlife

conservation circles. A team of experts from the Wildlife Institute of

India (WII), Dehradun, and forest officials of Arunachal Pradesh

captured the rare animal last month, albeit only on camera.

 

Although the team is certain that the animal caught on camera is a

black panther, the discovery has yet to be officially announced.

Experts want to ascertain the exact species to which it belongs before

making an announcement.

 

" Black panther is a term that does not denote any particular species

of cat. Instead, it refers to any all-black feline that is large

enough to be counted as a big cat, " said S.P. Goyal, a WII scientist.

 

The Pakke Tiger Reserve, 40 km from Seijosa under East Kameng district

in Arunachal Pradesh, is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna.

 

The newly discovered animal is believed to be an entirely new species

of black panther. " Going by grainy photographs of the animal, it has

small, round ears. The tail and body are quite long. It has canine

teeth relative to body size and peculiar to big cats, " Goyal added.

 

Goyal led the team of scientists that spotted the panther.

 

" The animal was a four-foot-long black panther-like beast. Genetic

tests could not be conducted as we could not capture the animal. But

the physical features indicate that it is a member of a rare species

of black panther, which is very rarely sighted in the jungles of this

region, " Goyal said.

 

Residents of Seijosa call the animal shonyi nyohi, which means " black

creature " . A black leopard was spotted in the same area in 2001.

Forest officials tranquillised the animal and captured it.

 

A black panther was sighted in the region for the first time in 1927.

Residents of the Lushai Hills of Mizoram saw the animal roaming about

in a forest, which was later confirmed by conservationists.

 

The seven-member team that went on the expedition in Arunachal Pradesh

had four scientists from the WII and three officials of the forest

department.

 

A.S. Negi, the national observer of tiger estimation, Tana Tapi,

divisional forest officer of the Pakke Tiger Reserve, and Tamo Deda, a

staff member, were in the team.