The rare sighting of a black leopard in Kenya has created a hullabaloo due to the animal's rarity and the pop cultural reference to Marvel's Black Panther superhero.

"Panthers" typically refer to the leopards in Asia and Africa, while it refers to jaguars in the Americas.

Here's an example of a typical reaction to this news.

First in almost a century

Several sightings of a black leopard have been reported since late 2017.

This drew a team of Kenya-based scientists to place camera traps around Loisaba Conservancy in early 2018 as part of the research study on the leopard population.

In a published research paper, the team confirmed that the creature spotted is a juvenile female melanistic leopard, which is sometimes accompanied by an adult leopard of normal coat colour.

Unlike the usual leopards, this is the first time that a black leopard has been spotted in Africa in almost a century which accounts for the hype over this discovery.

Besides the scientists, photographers are also tempted to catch a glimpse of this elusive animal.

View this post on Instagram

From out of the darkness and into the light. For the past year we at @sandiegozoo have been collecting videos of black leopards as part of our ongoing leopard conservation work in Laikipia County, Kenya. And we recently published our findings (👉). . . Black panthers are uncommon, only about 11% of leopards globally are black. But black panthers in Africa are extremely rare. Our new paper confirms black leopards living in Laikipia County, Kenya, and our observations in the paper are collectively the first confirmed cases in Africa in nearly 100 years. It is certain black panthers have been there all along, but good footage that could confirm it has always been absent until now. . . Leopard research conducted by @sandiegozoo is supported by our terrific partners: @loisaba_conservancy @mpalalive @nature_africa @kenyawildlifeservice @laikipia_county . . . . . #endextinction #landconnectedlifeprotected #leopard #blackpanther #blackleopard #kenya #laikipia #conservation #wildlife #nature #earthcapture @natgeo @bbcearth @dalylizzie @letoluai___ambrose

A post shared by Nicholas Pilfold, Ph.D. (@_life_of_a_biologist_) on Feb 11, 2019 at 5:30am PST

A wildlife photographer, Will Burrard-Lucas, managed to capture some high-resolution photos of this leopard with his camera.

These photos were also republished on various international media outlets which included CNN, BBC, National Geographic, just to name a few.

Not so rare

This might be the first black leopard spotted in Kenya, but black leopards are not that rare actually.

In fact, black leopards are typically found in tropical and humid Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia.

A gene mutation causes an excessive production of pigment melanin, which attributes to the black coat on these leopards.

This might be an adaptative trait of the animals to camouflage themselves to hide from predators.

Concerns over poaching

While some attention on the black panther will spur conservation efforts, some are worried that it has become too much for the animal's own good.

Several comments have raised concerns over the risk of poachers entering the protected area to hunt for this animal.

The editor of National Geographic has since assured that the conservatory is well-managed.

At a size of 57,000 acres, the size of this conservatory is about half of the size of Singapore.

Top photo collage from photos by Will Burrard-Lucas and Facebook comments