Extremely Rare Black Serval Spotted In The Wild

While shooting from the Asilia Namiri Plains Camp in Tanzania, British wildlife photographer George Turner captured a striking photo of an incredibly rare serval who was completely covered in black fur. According to Turner’s guide, the serval was given the name of “Manja”.

Melanism in servals primarily occurs in East Africa, particularly in the highland regions over 2000m, which is what makes this sighting particularly special. At around 1000m, the Namiri Plains are considerably "lower" than the normal altitude were melanism is more prevalent. It's likely this particular serval traveled from the nearby – and much higher – Ngorongoro Crater and established a new territory. "Can't describe how mind-blowing this was … and still is," the excited photographer wrote. "For context, even seeing a 'normal' serval is tough. They're shy, secretive cats that tend to live in tall grasses — the perfect combination for staying unnoticed. Every time I've been privileged enough to see them, my heart skips a beat."