Columbusing that Kenyan panther

The word columbusing may be dated but it probably best defines the news surrounding the recent discovery of a melanistic leopard (a panther) in Kenya.

Columbusing mostly happened as Europe rose in ascendancy, claiming colonies far and wide. In these new territories, they made many ‘discoveries’; that magnificent waterfall on the Zambezi was for instance discovered by the Scot David Livingstone, who named it Victoria Falls, in honor of the monarch of the time. The locals, who helped him as he made what turned out to be a 4-year journey (and this was the 1850s), already knew it as Mosi oa Tunya.

On some other timeline, we would probably refer to the highest mountain on the earth’s surface as Chomolungma or Sagarmatha, but a British surveyor called it Mt. Everest and that’s that. Over in Australia, the Anangu knew that most famous landmark as Uluru, but for years the world knew it as Ayers Rock, so named after an Australian Prime Minister in 1873.

To the present

This is Leopard Week on Nat Geo Wild, and luckily a British photographer recently took that rare photo of this panther in Kenya. He sent it National Geographic, and that’s when the columbusing began. Let me quote them.

“As recently as 2017, only a single sighting had been confirmed – a 1909 photograph taken in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and stored in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.”

As one would, of course- spot something of historic significance and spirit it away to a Western Museum, and refuse to return it. That’s a matter to unpack another time however.

The claim above is the basis for the headlines across the world, that such a panther hasn’t been seen in Africa in over a century.

Phoebe Okall

The thing is though, there is a photograph, dating back to August 27, 2013, of such a panther. It is credited to a Phoebe Okall, who at the time worked for a local media house, the Nation Media Group.

Okall’s panther is almost posing for the camera; it’s broad daylight, it’s looking at the camera sideways, and it’s at the center of the frame. It really is as clear a picture of a panther as you’d hope to get in 2013.  The panther even has a name from Mowgli; Bagheera. Which suggests it is a fairly well-known panther.

This is Bagheera in 2013. Image Credits: Phoebe Okall|Nation Media Group

Bagheera was spotted in Ol-Jogi Game Reserve, within Laikipia, where these other panthers were spotted.

The picture is available online (and the Nation website has no barrier preventing access), so it is really curious that a reputable institution such as National Geographic would make a claim of a century long rediscovery without confirming its facts.

As it were, an even older local photograph was available. Another wildlife conservancy also availed “a high-quality image” of another panther, taken in May 2007.

But right now, the world is talking about photos taken for the Global Institute for Conservation Research, a division of the San Diego Zoo.

And the local people who had photographic evidence years before them? Well, their works are not getting published in any journals, or even being properly recognized.

See what’s happening?

By Matengo Chwanya

Africa Global News Publication