WATCH: Rare Black Panther spotted in West Bengal, video goes viral and netizens call it ‘Bagheera’

West Bengal: A black panther sighting in Kurseong forest of West Bengal has sent a shock of excitement to social media. This magical creature is also captured through the camera of the forest officer Parveen Kaswan. He posted an apt caption for the post as the “Bagheera of Kurseong”. The video went viral, with many praising the sleek and mysterious appearance of the black panther.

A black panther is one of the elusive animals and seldom spotted in the wild. Raw power combined with agility make this a deadly land predator. In aquatic conditions, swimming will give this beast the same thrill as land exploration. Jumping as high as 20 feet, this cat is great for tree climbing, and hence this creature should be considered to be on a high rank among its competitors.

Interestingly, the black panther is not a distinct species but is rather a melanistic variant of the leopard or jaguar. This means that when these big cats develop an excessive amount of black pigment, they are termed black panthers. The Government of India claims that there are approximately 13,800 leopards in India, out of which 10-11% are black panthers.

While many praised Kaswan for sharing the stunning footage, there were others urging him to not reveal the location of the exact spot where he filmed the black panther in order to protect it from harm.

Reacting to the video, a user commented, “There is something quite majestic about the black panther, thank you for sharing Parveen”

Another user commented, “WOW , since you mentioned that sighting them is rare, this is a lucky sighting.”

A third user commented, “Wow. That’s what you call a dream sighting.! ”

WATCH the viral video here: 

This black Panther from North Bengal. Bagheera of Kurseong. What a beauty. pic.twitter.com/BHzFLeUf4T

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) January 24, 2025

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