Wildlife photographer captures an extremely rare wild cat during a safari

24-year-old wildlife photographer Anurag Gawende, has captured an extremely rare black leopard at Tadoba national park, India.

Black leopard is a rare sight cause among whole leopard population in India, only 11% are black leopards. These leopards have unique type of pigmentation and it makes their coats and skin black. While generally leopards are recorded as a vulnerable species due to loss of habitat and poaching, black leopards are in high risk because of they are being hunted for their stunning melanistic black coat by poachers.

When it comes to this leopard which captured by Anurag, is a male one and the only black leopard in Tadoba national park. And this is the rarest of this kind with black specks clearly visible on his radiant melanistic coat.

“we were actually tracking down for a tiger when we came across this beautiful one. While we were heading to Todoba lake, we heard a sound of a deer and in the next moment Black leopards’ shiny coat appeared in the pathway” Anurag speaks. And he was lucky enough to capture several photographs when it walking over. The Black leopard contrast against clay read ground making the snaps making too perfect.

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An extremely rare black leopard (pictured) was spotted in an Indian wildlife park as it tried to hunt a deer, and captured in a series of photographs from just 30 feet away, contrasted against the clay-red ground it was walking across

Wildlife photographer Anurag Gawande came across the melanistic leopard while on a safari at Tadoba National Park in western Maharashtra state in January. Pictured: The leopard stalks across the clay-red track as it hunts a deer

The male leopard is only one-of-its-kind at Tadoba National Park in Maharashtra in western India. Melanistic leopards are already rare because of their black coats being coveted by poachers. But this particular male leopard is the rarest of its kind with its black spots distinctly visible on his shiny coat

The 24-year-old photographer Anurag Gawande said he was just 30 feet away from the leopard when he spotted it, adding that it had been hunting a deer when his safari group came across the rare cat

Indian leopards are listed as a vulnerable species following habitat loss and poaching. Between 12,000 and 14,000 are believed to live in India. Around 11 per cent of leopards have the unique pigmentation, making them a rare sight