In a first of its kind, a leopard with two different-coloured eyes has been photographed at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka. The leopard was clicked by wildlife photographer Dhruv Patil, a member of the Karnataka State Wildlife Board.
During a safari in Bandipur, Mr Patil saw the old female leopard on a tree and clicked her photos. Later, while going through the photographs, he found out that the leopard had two different-coloured eyes – one bluish-green and one brown.
IAS officer Supriya Sahu, who often shares interesting facts and clips about wildlife, posted an image of the leopard on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
She wrote, "Beware! The eyes of this leopard will hypnotise you. In a first documentation of its kind in India, a leopard with two different coloured eyes has been photographed in Bandipur Tiger Reserve by Dhruv Patil. How incredible! Heterochromia Iridum is a very rare genetic mutation which causes each of the two eyes to have a different colour."
In his reply, Dhruv Patil thanked her, while Supriya Sahu called it a "brilliant capture".
What is Heterochromia iridum?
Heterochromia iridum, or simply Heterochromia, is a rare genetic mutation wherein the irises are of two different colours. This phenomenon reportedly was not yet been documented in a big cat in India.
According to American Academy of Ophthalmology, there are different types of heterochromia:
- Complete heterochromia: In this, the colour of one iris is different from the other.
- Partial heterochromia: Part of the iris is different in colour than the rest part of it.
- Central heterochromia: The inner ring is of different colour than the outer area of the iris.
The viral photograph of the leopard in Bandipur Tiger Reserve drew reactions on social media. "Very intense," one user wrote.
Another one added, "What a rarely capture. Credit to man behind the camera"
Meanwhile, Mr Patil said that it is "incredible to document such rare mutations in such elusive creatures."
Earlier, he had clicked a black panther at the Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary near Mysuru. He is said to have spent more than 9,000 minutes, 150 hours, or almost seven days on a single road at a national forest in Karnataka to get the photograph.