Africa, The home of the Black Panther

In 2018, one of the biggest motion pictures was Black Panther, which received acclaim from critics and fans alike. Set in a hypothetical or fictitious country, kingdom, presumably in the African continent, it presented the African continent in a positive way to the entire world. It showed Africa’s potential. The position that it could achieve in the global hegemonic order, more particularly, in science, technology, and other fields, driven by proper utilization of the resources the continent has. Africa has plenty to offer the world. More particularly, nature, one of the greatest resources that the continent possesses, has been and has the potential to proper Africa in general, and the different countries therein, to greater heights.

Annually, thousands of people travel from across the country, Kenya, and indeed, from across the world to camp at the backs of Mara River. The Mara River is located between the Maasai Mara and Serengeti National Parks in Kenya and Tanzania respectively. The local and international tourists visiting the area, pay top dollar to witness one of the marvels of the world. A phenomenon that has been the subject of hundreds, maybe even thousands of shows on National Geographic and other television channels dedicated to nature conservancy and related issues. The Wildebeest migration of the Mara and Serengeti National Parks is indeed a global marvel.

Thousands of local and international tourists throng various destinations in different African countries. Kenya is one such destination boasting of having a national park adjacent to the capital city. Less than ten minutes’ drive from the city center.  In Kenya’s National park, tourist are treated to sights of the big five; the lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, and the buffalo. The wildebeest migration is just another icing on the magnificent wildlife cake offering by Kenya to the World. Undeniably, there is a lot that keeps the local and international tourists going back for more in Kenya. Just when the people across the world think that they have seen it all, nature, in Kenya, throws the global tourism, nature conservation, and other professionals, as well as scholars in the field a curve ball.

The Black Panther, or the Black Leopard, was sighted in Kenya in late 2018 and early 2019 by a team of biologists who had set up equipment in Laikipia County in Kenya. Prior to this sighting, as reported by National Geographic in an article published in February 2019, and quoting one of the scientists involved in the study, the last sighting of the rare species was in 1909 in Ethiopia. The skin color of the leopard, which is black as shown in the image below, taken by Burrard-Lucas,  is attributed to melanism, which causes the overproduction of the pigment or the color that causes the skin to be black.

The furor caused by the sighting of this magnificent animal in Africa, more particularly, Kenya, shows that African countries are still rich. Nature has bestowed the African continent, with immense resources. The countries therein can leverage or sustainably exploit and use these resources to foster national, regional, and development across the continent. For example, with the sighting of the black leopard, the government tourism marketing board, could have worked with the producers of the Black Panther to organize and execute exclusive sighting tours for tourists, and the proceeds used in the conservation of the natural habitat of the leopards and improve the social-economic status of the residents of the area.

Source: National Geographic
Image: CNN

Article by: Dana Ochia