'Exmoor beast' back on show at zoo, as reports in the wild continue to fall
'Bagheera' can now be seen by visitors
Last updated 11th Jul 2023
A black leopard is once again on display at Exmoor Zoo - which styles itself as 'the Home of the Exmoor Beast'
'Bagheera' has taken over the enclosure given to 'Zoysa’ who died last year from old age
The zoo's Danny Reynolds said: "Our lovely young girl was born in France in Parc Des Felins just outside Paris. Born on May 12th, 2022, she came to us about 6 weeks ago and has been settling down into her new home.
"Called “Bagheera” after Rudyard Kipling’s stories in Jungle Book, she has the fiery temperament of our previous black leopards “Zoysa” and “Ebony”.
"Still in her adolescence she has been interacting with some of our visitors from inside her house quarters where her bright green, emerald eyes and her white teeth have been the first things anybody has noticed about her.
It's thought the real 'Exmoor beast' are animals released in the 1970s when the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was passed.
Danny Reynolds is a local expert on the animals and is regularly called out to investigate sightings.
He said: "The myth of the Exmoor beast most recently dates back to the 1950’s onwards when many people owned these cats as prestige pets and sufficient escaped into our countryside. Since the 1976 Dangerous Wild Animal Act it has become illegal to own a big cat without special conditions and inspected licensing
"It's just a shame that recently the reports are getting less and less and I think possibly those animals - that were released back when the Dangerous Wild Animals licensing came in - are beginning to die now through old age and they haven't been able to find another animal to breed with."
The zoo say it's hugely exciting to welcome their new arrival, with Danny adding: "Black leopards are what scientists call melanistic.
"The leopard coat pattern is still there but the guard hairs in her coat have become black. This is extremely rare in the wild and tends to just occur in certain selected parts of the world where dense forest provides a good habitat in which they can hide. In more open areas black is too obvious and is not a survivable mutation.
"Black leopards in captivity are thought to derive from the Victorian era when they were collected due to their unusual colour in areas such as Corbett national park in northern India.
"“Bagheera” has been raised by her parents who are one of the only two pairs of black leopards left in captivity in Europe. She came to Exmoor Zoo as part of an exchange as one of our female caracal kittens born in 2021 was exchanged as part of the European breeding program and cooperation with other zoos.
"We would hope that Bagheera should live with us for the next 15 years or more. If we can, we may try and find a normal coat coloured male companion from the Asiatic leopards in captivity. Leopards from the African continent are slightly different being much larger and tend not to have the recessive genes for the potential black appearance."