Leucism is another genetic condition in which an animal has a partial or total loss of pigmentation. But unlike albino animals, they have normal-coloured eyes. Partial pigmentation loss can sometimes manifest in altered patterns, such as this Spotted Grant’s Zebra, photographed close to Esirai Camp in the Northern Serengeti.
Melanism is another hereditary genetic condition that results in a dark pigmentation in an animal. The black panther was once thought to be a separate species but it is simply a melanistic leopard, Panthera pardus. This Melanistic Serval lives near Olmara Camp in the Serengeti and is affectionately called Manja. We were lucky to see a few melanistic offspring that Manja has sired, some with normal spotted females who carried a recessive melanistic gene.