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In a rare and significant wildlife record, an ultra-rare leopard colour morph has been documented for the first time in Karnataka, in Vijayanagara district, by conservation biologist and expert on leopards, Sanjay Gubbi and his team from the Holématthi Nature Foundation (HNF).
Most leopards (Panthera pardus) possess tawny coats with black rosettes. However, this exceptionally rare colour morph exhibits a pale reddish-pink coat—resembling the hue of sandalwood—with light-brown rosettes.
“This genetically unusual colouration is believed to result from a genetic condition involving either an excess of red pigmentation or a deficiency of dark pigmentation. To give the morph a native identity and reflect Karnataka’s cultural heritage, Dr Sanjay Gubbi has named it the Sandalwood Leopard,” a statement by the Foundation noted.
It added that internationally, leopards of this colour morph are referred to as ‘Strawberry leopards’. Globally, such individuals have been sporadically recorded in South Africa and on a single occasion in Tanzania, with only a handful of documented cases worldwide.
In India, Sandalwood Leopards are extremely rare. A single individual was previously documented from the Ranakpur region of Rajasthan in November 2021, making the Vijayanagara record only the second confirmed documentation from the country.
The Sandalwood Leopard recorded in Vijayanagara district is a female, estimated to be 6-7 years old, and was documented through camera trapping. In one of the images, the female was photographed with a cub that displays normal coat colouration and black rosettes.
“This leopard is consistent with conditions such as hypomelanism or erythrism, both of which are naturally occurring genetic traits identified in wild mammals. At present, this assessment is based on photographic evidence and visual characteristics. While these features are distinctive, definitive confirmation of the exact genetic mechanism would require molecular analysis using DNA from non-invasive samples such as scat or hair. Until such genetic evidence is available, it is scientifically appropriate to describe this animal as a rare colour morph rather than assign a specific genetic condition,” the statement quoted Sanjay Gubbi as saying.
Another well-known leopard colour morph observed in India is the melanistic (black) leopard, which is far more frequently reported than the Sandalwood Leopard.
The documentation was carried out by the HNF team comprising Sanjay Gubbi, Sandesh Appu Naik, Shravan Suthar, Poornesha H.C., Ruma Kundarkar, Ravichandra Velip, Dayanand Mirashi, Sumit Velip, Aishwarya Karanth, and Mayur Mirashi.
Camera trapping was conducted as part of HNF’s ongoing efforts to estimate leopard populations and identify key landscapes for large mammal conservation in the Kalyana-Karnataka region. This region remains under-studied from a wildlife conservation perspective yet holds significant potential for conserving arid-zone species such as the Indian grey wolf, striped hyena, and Bengal fox.
HNF’s research indicates that Karnataka supports an estimated ~2,500 leopards. The Foundation’s work has also led to several important discoveries, including the first-ever documentation of the honey badger in the state, the white morph of wild dogs, and range extensions of chinkara, dhole, and brown mongoose, among other significant findings.