The camera trapping research, headed by Rimba's co-founder Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, has so far taken some astounding images and even video of the black leopard (see below). "The Malay Peninsula is entirely unique—nowhere else in the world do melanistic individuals constitute almost the entire leopard population," says Hedges, who points to a 2010 study by Kawanishi et al in the Journal of Zoology which, "revealed that while leopards north of the Isthmus of kra between the Thai and Malay peninsula are mainly spotted, almost all records of leopards south of this famous ecological transition zone are melanistic. "We are quite excited as, to our knowledge, this will be the first study investigating the population density of melanistic leopards in Malaysia," says Clements who is affiliated with James Cook University and University of Malaya.But even with its imposing presence and the mythos surrounding it, black panthers are in no way secure. The only 'black panther' recorded in Peninsular Malaysia so far has been the black leopard ().While melanistic individuals of leopards can be found across its range, the Malay Peninsula is entirely unique - nowhere else in the world do melanistic individuals constitute almost the entire leopard population. The researchers want to use their new method to study black leopards in other parts of Peninsular Malaysia where there is abundant prey but few leopards to be seen. Camera traps allow us to identify cat individuals with unique individual patterns such as tigers and clouded leopards. As our camera traps are equipped with infrared light, the "rosette" spot patterns on their coat have become much clearer and we are now confident of identifying leopard individuals.We hope to determine population density estimates of the black leopard and other carnivore species in the Kenyir Wildlife Corridor, which can then be used as a baseline to compare with in later years. Native to the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabian leopard is today extremely rare — less than 200 animals are thought to survive in the wild.
– Black leopards may owe thanks to a team of scientists at Australia’s James Cook University. The rare leopards, an endangered species living on the Malay Peninsula, have been hard to identify because each one appeared the same—until now. The researchers discovered that the big cats actually have complex designs of spotting when viewed through an infrared flash, according to a press release. "Most automatic cameras have an infrared flash, but it's only activated at night," says a researcher on the project. "However, by blocking the camera's light sensor, we can fool the camera into thinking it's night even during the day, so it always flashes." The spots make it easier for humans to identify and track black leopards, which should save more leopard lives. "Understanding how leopards are faring in an increasingly human-dominated world is vital," says lead author Laurie Hedges. Few leopards actually live on the Malay Peninsula, perhaps due to poaching, while wire snares are killing them and wildlife markets are selling leopard body parts and skins. The rapid elimination of Malaysian forests is also depriving leopards of suitable habitats. The black panther—or leopard in Asia and Africa—has long had a "mythical aura" dating back to Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book and Stan Lee's creation of the Black Panther superhero, Mongabay.com reports. Another neat fact: The black leopard is "perhaps the only known example of a wild mammal with virtually an entire population composed of black individuals," says Hedges. (See how "sexed-up bachelor birds" could save their species.)