For the first time in India, the rare ‘pink’ leopard has been caught on camera in the Ranakpur region, Aravalli hills of South Rajasthan. Earlier, similar sightings of pink leopard were reported in 2012 and 2019 in South Africa, as per a report by the Times of India.
The locals living in Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur have earlier claimed sightings of the large cat with a pink-colored coat, as per the TOI report. Fateh Singh Rathore, Rajsamand DCF, said that the pink leopard has been visiting various regions because of the vast area that the forest covers. He added, “As conservators of wildlife, we aim to protect the leopard by restricting human invasion into its territory.” It is only recently that the pink leopard (female) was caught on camera.
In India, leopards have tawny coats with black spots. On the other hand, the rare pink leopard has a pinkish tint in its coat because of a genetic condition called erythrism that overproduces the red pigments under the skin.
After a four-day search, Hitesh Motwani, a wildlife conservator, and photographer from Udaipur claimed to have captured the rare pink leopard on his camera. He said the animal was around five to six years old.
Motwani, while talking to Udaipur News, said that he got information about the pink leopard from his friend who runs a safari business. At first, he could not believe if such a leopard could exist. However, he found out later that such a pink leopard had been spotted in South Africa earlier. Motwani, with the help of three other wildlife enthusiasts and experts, formed a team and tracked the leopard for four days to get the first-ever photographs and videos of the animal.
