The Black Leopard Has Secret Spots
7th March 2016
For some reason, either because the color scheme offered better camouflage or simply random chance, the leopards in this region are almost entirely black, which makes them really difficult to tell apart. Until now. In a new study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management, researchers found that by using infrared cameras, they could actually see a leopard’s distinctive pattern of spots.
When a person looks at a black leopard, the distinctive pattern of spots (unique to each leopard) blends in with the dark fur. But cameras equipped with an infrared flash (usually used to take night pictures) can see the subtle difference between the two dark colors of fur. The resulting photograph of a leopard shows a unique pattern of spots that researchers can use to identify animals, and get a better idea of how many rare black leopards are left in the wild.
March 8th, 2016 at 02:38
Might have applications for RINO prevention, but does anyone want to preserve that population?