Rare black panther sighted at Achanakmar tiger reserve in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, a rare black panther has been sighted in the Achanakmar tiger reserve (ATR) in Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh. The melanistic leopard has been spotted in the core area of the ATR, a forest officer said. 

“The presence of the black panther in ATR was confirmed during the tiger census in 2022”, ATR deputy director U R Rao



told this newspaper on Tuesday. 

The presence of the black panther was not only confirmed in the camera-trap method but also in the normal efforts, he added. A forest officer said that the frequency of appearance of black panther has of late increased, raising the possibility of presence of more than one melanistic leopard in the ATR.