• Senaka Kotagama and ‘The World of the Black Leopard’

There is something otherworldly about a black leopard. Sleek, elusive, and almost spectral in appearance, it isn’t a separate species but a rare colour variant of the common leopard, caused by a genetic mutation known as melanism. 

Found mostly in dense, shadowy forests across Asia and Africa (including in our own national parks), black leopards are nearly impossible to spot in the wild – quiet phantoms that move like whispers through the undergrowth. Their rarity, combined with their striking appearance, has long given them an air of myth and magic.

For over five decades, explorer and photographer Senaka Kotagama has chased such myth and magic. From tracking jaguars in the Amazon to swimming with tiger sharks in Myanmar, his lifelong love for the wild has taken him to some of the planet’s most remote corners. But it was a rare black leopard in Kenya that brought him his most intimate and memorable story yet and inspired his debut book, ‘The World of the Black Leopard.’

Released in June, ‘The World of the Black Leopard’ is, as Senaka describes it, “a book not to leave on the coffee table but also to take to bed and read”. At 286 pages and over 50,000 words, it chronicles not just the journey of a melanistic leopard named Giza, but also the environment it inhabits, the animals it lives among, and the people who share its land. 

“It’s about the black leopard’s world – its environment, the other animals that live in it, and the people who share the habitat with it. How its world evolved as it grew up from a juvenile to an adult, to becoming a mother of two cubs,” Senaka shared.

The magic of Giza

Giza, named after the Swahili word for ‘beautiful darkness,’ is unlike other black leopards. Melanistic leopards are not uncommon genetically – about 11% of the global leopard population is melanistic – but they are incredibly rare to see. 

“Even here in Sri Lanka, we have black leopards. In Malaya and Java, where habitats are thickly wooded and dense, the prevalence of melanistic leopards is greater,” Senaka explained. “It’s part of evolution; they blend into these dark habitats and gain an advantage.”

Still, seeing one is next to impossible. “They’re almost never seen. If you go looking for them, there is no chance [of seeing them],” he said. “But Giza is different. From the time she was born, she was curious.” Born to a black father and a golden mother in the Laikipia Plateau of north-central Kenya, Giza had an unusual boldness. 

“She’s probably the most prolific and habituated black leopard we will ever see,” Senaka said. “She recognises me. Leopards have a fantastic memory – it’s often for life. I’m sure she remembers me from the first time to the second.”

Senaka first heard of Giza through reports and photographs shared by British wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas, who had used camera traps in Laikipia to capture images of a juvenile black leopard alongside her golden mother. “When I saw those photographs, I couldn’t believe it. I said, ‘Give me the information, I’ll get there in five or six months.’ But my friend said, ‘No, she’s here now. Better come now.’ Two weeks later, I was in Kenya.”

On his very first safari, just 10 minutes in, Giza appeared. “Before the truck even came to a halt, there she was. A lifelong dream had just come true,” he recalled. 

He would return again and again over the next three years, documenting Giza’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. “She would sometimes crouch under the truck I was in, using our spotlight to hunt. She would come within two feet of me. You could see her blazing amber eyes, like electric bulbs.”

Senaka believes her unusual behaviour could be evolutionary. “Perhaps they were hunted more than regular leopards for their pelts. Humans have a thing for rarity. Over time, they learnt to stay hidden. But Giza is different – a freak of nature we will not see again.”

The power of photography

Senaka’s love for photography began in childhood, though it took time to mature. “As kids, we were rough and destructive. My father had a Minolta camera he loved. He didn’t let me touch it until much later in my teens,” he laughed. “But I always liked photography. It helps you freeze special moments. It grows into you like an addiction.”

Over the years, Senaka has taken countless photographs across the world – from giant manta rays and sharks to Bengal tigers and Komodo dragons. But it wasn’t until Giza that he felt he had something worth turning into a book. “People would say, ‘You should do a coffee table book.’ But I always thought, what’s the point? It would be the same old thing. Until Giza.”

Even then, the idea for a book came not just from the photos, but from his writing. “This is not just photography. It’s a lot of writing I have done on the move,” he said. “Not just, ‘I saw Giza today,’ but thoughts, emotions, the wind, the sense of it. When you write on the move like that, every second gives way to another experience.”

He considered hiring a writer to craft a book from his field notes, but after meeting experienced editor David Colin-Thomé, the plan changed. “He looked at my notes and said: ‘This is a book already.’ I shut myself away and started expanding. I was surprised at what I had written down.”

Lessons in conservation from Kenya

Senaka believes there is much Sri Lanka can learn from how wildlife conservation is approached in Africa. 

Giza and other leopards like her live in private conservancies that strictly regulate human interaction. “At any given time, only a handful of visitors are allowed in. If there’s a sighting, only two trucks are allowed to see her. Everyone else has to leave,” he said.

This model, he noted, contrasted starkly with Sri Lanka. “When a black leopard cub was spotted in Yala, it was like a gold rush. That was the worst thing to happen to that cub,” he recalled. “I stayed away from the stampede.”

The lesson, he said, was simple. “Wildlife is a massive resource. But if you want to make a huge amount of money and bring in thousands of tourists, you will destroy the habitat and the fauna. There is a lot we can learn from how places like Kenya handle things.”

‘The World of the Black Leopard’

For those wondering whether ‘The World of the Black Leopard’ is for them, Senaka is clear that it is more than a wildlife book. “There’s value in the information you can extract – firsthand knowledge, not only about the black leopard and its habitat but also how to prepare yourself for the wild. What to wear, what to carry, and how to survive in a remote part of the world. It’s all in there.”

But at its heart, it is about a relationship. Between one man and a leopard. Between memory and wilderness. Between the camera and the moment.

“She came straight to me once,” Senaka recalls. “I had removed the seats in the truck and was lying across the floor. She came out of the dark and walked straight towards me. I couldn’t take photos – she was too close. Her eyes met mine, then she went under the truck and grazed my feet as she came out the other side. That’s trust. You don’t get that unless they recognise you.”

Info box

‘The World of the Black Leopard’ is available now at Barefoot, Sarasavi, and M.D. Gunasena. International distribution in Kenya, Dubai, Singapore, and India is currently being explored