It’s black, beautiful and hard to spot.

A rare melanistic leopard has been sighted near Kurseong in the Darjeeling hills, much to the surprise and elation of foresters in the region.

Foresters have claimed that the presence of the animal near the hill town, which is also known as the Land of White Orchid, will be an added attraction for wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers visiting the region.

On Monday, foresters of the Kurseong forest division confirmed the presence of a melanistic leopard under their jurisdiction in theKurseong hills.

They came up with video footage, which shows the camera-shy animal crossing one of the routes in thehills and getting into the roadside bush.

The melanistic leopard, known for its jet-black appearance, has been categorised as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The melanistic leopard crosses a road in Kurseong.

Devesh Pandey, the divisional forest officer of Kurseong, said they got the video footage from an officer of the Indian Air Force.

“We don’t want to specifically disclose the location where the animal was spotted because of security reasons. It was somewhere in Bagora, which is located at a height of 6,000 feet near the sea level,” said Pandey.

He said that the melanistic leopard was highly reclusive by nature.

Earlier, there were reports that the species had been sighted at Giddey Pahar and Saint Mary’s, both located on the outskirts ofKurseong town.

“The melanistic leopard is usually seen at the Singalila National Park (which is in Darjeeling district) located at an elevation between 7,000 feet to 13,000 feet. It has rarely been seen near Kurseong before,” the forester added.

Bagora, a tiny hilly hamlet nestled near Kurseong, draws visitors because of its pristine location surrounded by orchids, orange plantations and some old installations that were established during the British era.

Experts said that over the past few years, the number of melanistic leopards has increased in some other habitats across India, especially in states such as Madhya Pradeshand Odisha.

“The presence of melanistic leopard in the Kurseong belt suggests that the animal has found a congenial habitat here. There are some dense forest patches around the town. Also, it shows that these forests have a good prey base for the animal to survive,” said asenior forester.

Following the sighting of this rare breed, the forest department would take steps for its protection, he said.

“We will also have to find out whether it is the same animal that was spotted in some locations in the surroundings of Kurseong or whether there is more than one such melanistic leopard in the area,”he added.