MYSTERY CATS IN SHOWBUSINESS - YOUR ASSISTANCE IS REQUESTED!

A still from the 'Tarzan' television series of the 1960s showing Tarzan (Ron Ely) alongside a black-headed leopard (still emailed to me by Bill Rebsamen)

The entertainment world may not be the most likely realm in which to encounter real-life mystery cats, but a number of intriguing examples have cropped up here from time to time, including the following two cases - neither of which has been resolved so far.


A BLACK TIGER IN THE CIRCUS?

Melanistic (all-black) specimens of leopards Panthera pardus (commonly termed black panthers) and jaguars P. onca are well known. Conversely, although there have been many reports of all-black tigers P. tigris (see my book Mystery Cats of the World, 1989, for the first - and still the most detailed - review of cases ever published), not a single specimen or skin of one has ever been formally submitted for scientific examination and verification.

Consequently, in the absence of a specimen, fully melanistic tigers are still regarded as cats of cryptozoology, even though there is no sound zoological or genetic reason why all-black mutants of this species should not arise from time to time. Hence I was greatly excited when I received an e-mail from Arkansas wildlife artist William M. Rebsamen on 3 October 1997 in which he recalled seeing a photo of a living black tiger in a book! According to Bill:

"I remember once seeing a large book about the history of the Ringling Brothers Circus and was surprised to find a clear photo of a big cat trainer with a "Black" tiger (you could still make out his stripes though) mixed in with his normal Bengals. Is this for real?"

If only I knew! However, the fact that its stripes could still be discerned against its fur's black background colouration is precisely what one would expect with a genuine melanistic tiger, just as the rosettes of black leopards and jaguars can be perceived against their fur's ebony ground colour when viewed closely or at certain angles.

Computer-generated mock-up of the likely morphology of a melanistic tiger (Dr Karl Shuker)

Needless to say, I lost no time in requesting any further information that Bill could recall concerning this fascinating disclosure, and on 15 October I received the following details:

"Sorry for the uncertainty of my memory concerning the black tiger photo but the best I can remember [is] it was a coffee table sized, hardcover book. My best recollection is that the title was "The History of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus". I'm sure it would have been around 1974 or 1975 when I saw the book, new, in a bookstore at our local mall. The photo was in towards the middle of the book. It pictured a trainer in a cage with 4 or 5 bengals, one appearing to be black.

"I hope this isn't another case like the "Thunderbird Photo", but I can assure you, as a young kid of about 10 or 11 at the time, I was thoroughly fascinated with big cats and would go to the mall every Saturday for as long as that book store was in business and I would look at that photo. I don't know why it never crossed my mind to ask my mom to buy it for me. I do know that for that age I could distinguish big cat subtleties (like the still visible spots on a black leopard) and was amazed by this photo because it appeared to show stripes under the dark fur."

The late Mark Chorvinsky, Strange Magazine's founding editor and a longstanding friend of mine, had a lifelong interest and extensive knowledge of circus history, so I swiftly informed him of Bill's remarkable news, and Mark promptly contacted the Ringling Brothers Circus requesting any information that they could send concerning this melanistic mystery. Sadly, however, he never received any reply, but Bill and I have continued to collaborate fully in pursuing this compelling mystery in the hope of uncovering not only the photo but, as a result, proof that a living black tiger was actually maintained in captivity!

Another cryptozoological researcher who greatly assisted us was the late Scott T. Norman, from California. After receiving details from Bill, Scott conducted some extensive Internet searches and sent out many requests for information relating to this photo. Again, however, no further details were forthcoming.

Ringling Brothers Circus poster depicting a normal tiger

Has anyone reading this ShukerNature blog post seen the book and the all-important photograph inside it referred to by Bill? Or does anyone have any additional information concerning the possible presence of a black tiger in the Ringling Brothers Circus? If so, I'd greatly welcome any details that you could send to me or post here.


TARZAN AND THE BLACK-HEADED LEOPARD

Remarkably, the above feline enigma is not the only mystery cat from the realms of showbusiness whose apparent existence has been brought to my attention by Bill Rebsamen. Bill also very kindly alerted me to the curious black-headed leopard that appeared in an episode of the 'Tarzan' television series from the 1960s, starring Ron Ely in the title role. According to Bill, in the storyline of this particular episode Tarzan's sidekick was a 12-year-old boy from India who had made friends with a spotted leopard that was black from the neck up, and which was being pursued by evil fortune-hunting poachers. After a number of e-mails and Internet requests, Bill succeeded in obtaining a copy of a frame from the episode, shown above at the beginning of this ShukerNature post, depicting a black-headed leopard lying next to Ron Ely.

To my mind, this animal was probably 'created' in the series' make-up department, as the black head and neck colouration is precisely delineated from the spotted remainder of the beast, whereas one might have expected a rather more blurred demarcation if the leopard's pigmentation had been genuine. Also, I assume it is this odd colouration that made it so valuable (in the story) to the poachers, who would not have been so concerned about tracking a normal leopard. Bill, however, is not so sure, noting in a November 1997 e-mail to me:

"It seems to me this [the black-headed leopard] may fall under the "stranger than fiction category" when you ask the question as to why would someone go through the trouble of dyeing the leopard's head black for a syndicated TV show watched by people who would, for the most part, not realize the significance of this rarity?"

If its rarity is not specifically alluded to in the programme, then Bill does have a point. Also, it has to be conceded that transforming a leopard in this way would prevent any stock footage of leopards being used in that particular show (which is a common - and financially sensible! - practice when putting together a show containing a lot of animal footage).

Despite continued efforts, Bill did not succeed in his attempts to track down the show's producer, animal trainer, or anyone else with knowledge of this episode, in order to uncover the true identity and history of its melanocephalic animal star.

Annual from 1967 accompanying the 1960s 'Tarzan' television series starring Ron Ely

So once again, if anyone reading this ShukerNature post has any relevant information, I'd love to hear from you - it may not be too late even now to solve yet another feline mystery emanating unexpectedly from the entertainment world.


UPDATE - 29 March 2012

Yesterday, I learnt from American correspondent Shane Lea that he owned the full set of the 'Tarzan' episodes starring Ron Ely, and he promised to go through them in search of the elusive and enigmatic black-headed leopard. I mentioned that one episode was entitled 'Leopard on the Loose' - perhaps it featured in that one.

Later that same day, I was delighted to receive the following, extremely informative and illuminating email from Shane (thanks Shane!):

"Well, I tracked down and viewed the Tarzan episode w/the black-headed leopard in it. It is indeed called Leopard on the Loose. Interestingly enough, they actually refer to it as a black-headed leopard in the episode. Very interesting. My own feeling after having viewed it, and knowing it is a product of Hollywood, is that they might have used charcoal on the leopard's head. The reason is, the rosettes are clearly visible on the head and the head also has a faded look. Let's hope they didn't spraypaint the poor thing, but they got away with things in the sixties that today they never would...But, it is a great episode and the black-headed leopard looks real. At least we don't have to worry about it being green-screened or photoshopped, the leopard is real. Charcoal would rub right off and would be harmless to the animal. The other alternative, is that it really is a black-headed leopard! Maybe an aberration, one that went incompletely melanistic? They did say in the episode that it was rare, valuable and worth $4,000. That would be in 1966 dollars, in 2012 dollars, $52,000,000 LOL!...

"Manuel Padilla Jr., is Jai's real name. He played Tarzan's young sidekick in the series. The black-headed leopard was his pet in the show. If he is on Facebook, he might know or remember something regarding the leopard. The series executive producer was Sy Weintraub, although who knows if he is still around. Also, actor Russ Tamblyn played one of the poachers. Another producer was Jon Epstein, co-producer Don Brinkley. The animal supervisor, was Joseph S. Stewart. The episode was directed by Paul Stanley. I hope this helps. A black-headed leopard definitely sounds like something ERB - Edgar Rice Burroughs - would have written about. I think he included much fact in his science fiction. I am a huge ERB fan. No-one could write action like he could. He was one of the very best, that's why they named
Tarzana, Ca. after him!"

All I need to do now is find a DVD of this episode that is compatible for viewing using a British DVD player - sadly, American DVDs are not compatible. So watch this space for further developments!

ANGEL AND HIS AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAM CAT

Tshenkutshen - Ecuador's extraordinary 'rainbow jaguar' (Tim Morris)

I was very encouraged by the number of responses, both via the blog and directly to me, that I have received in reply to my request for info re the coelacanth goblet - so much so, in fact, that I see ShukerNature as a useful forum in which to bring forward other crypto mysteries that have come to my attention but remained unresolved. So from now on, I intend to publicise a number of these here, in case somewhere out there is a reader with important new info to share.

Next up, therefore, is the following mystery cat for consideration, one that is unlike any other that I have ever encountered in the literature.

During some fieldwork in southern Ecuador’s Amazonian region in summer 1999 Spanish cryptozoologist Angel Morant Forés made enquiries as to whether this South American country also harboured any reclusive crypto-cats or other mystery beasts. As revealed in his field report of October 1999, he was staggered to learn that several hitherto-undocumented forms may indeed exist here, still evading scientific detection and description, and including one enigmatic cat of extraordinarily colourful appearance.

Known to the Shuar Indians in the Macas region (Morona-Santiago province) as the tshenkutshen, this incredible cryptid is reputed to be the size of a jaguar, and black in colour, but ornately decorated with several stripes of different colours – black, white, red, and yellow – on its chest, “just like a rainbow”, in the words of one native hunter interviewed by Angel.

Said to inhabit the Trans-Cutucú region, Sierra de Cutucú, and the Sangay volcano area near Chiguaza, Ecuador’s mystifying rainbow cat is described by the Shuar as having monkey-like forepaws and being an exceptionally good tree-climber, leaping from tree-trunk to tree-trunk at great speed, and greatly feared as an extremely dangerous animal. One such cat may well have been killed in 1959 by Policarpio Rivadeneira, a Macas settler, while walking through the rainforest of Cerro Kilamo, a low mountain near the Abanico River. He had seen the creature leaping from tree to tree and, scared that it would attack him, shot it.

When he examined it, he discovered that it was a jaguar-sized cat, but instantly distinguishable from all cats that he had ever seen by virtue of the series of multicoloured stripes running across its chest, and also by its simian forepaws. Sadly, Rivadeneira does not appear to have retained the creature’s carcase, or even its pelt, so as yet there is no physical evidence available to support the existence of this fascinating felid.

Does anyone else know anything about this remarkable crypto-cat? If so, please send in details. Also, if there are any crypto-artists out there who would like to prepare a piece of artwork portraying this beautiful animal, I'd love to see it - it would certainly make a spectacular subject!

SCHREBER'S CAT OF MANY COLOURS.

Serval (Dr Karl Shuker)

In zoological parlance, a morph is defined as one of two or more physically (but not taxonomically) different forms of individual exhibited by a given species. For example, the black panther is a melanistic morph of the leopard Panthera pardus. Having said that, some morphs of certain feline species appear so different from one another on first sight that in days gone by they were rigorously classified as wholly distinct species in their own right.

SERVAL AND SERVALINE - OR, SPOTS VERSUS SPECKLES

The serval and the servaline are a case in point. Formally christened Leptailurus [=Felis] serval in 1776 by Carl Schreber, the serval is a distinctive species of medium-sized African wild cat with noticeably big ears, long limbs, and a tawny-yellow coat handsomely marked with large black blotches and polka dots. Native to much of tropical Africa except for the closed rainforests of Central and West Africa, it is most commonly encountered in open country, particularly dry savannahs and steppe.

In 1839, however, English zoologist W. Ogilby documented what he considered to be a second, totally discrete species of serval, native to the moist savannah zone encircling the jungles of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and elsewhere in western Africa. He named it Felis servalina, and it thus became known as the servaline and also, very appropriately, as the small-spotted serval. Eschewing the serval's large blotches and polka dots, the servaline's coat was flecked with a dusting of only the finest, tiniest dots, so that when viewed from any distance the animal seemed to be almost uniform in colour, without any evident patterning.

In later years, the servaline's taxonomic status became a perennial topic for dispute within scientific circles. Some figures, such as Professors Bocage and St George Mivart, and Richard Lydekker (all respected zoological authorities in the 1800s), as well as the eminent 20th Century United States mammalogist Dr J.A. Allen, were convinced of its separate standing. According to Allen, a series of serval and servaline pelts collected in what is now the Democratic Congo and housed at the American Museum of Natural History could be readily sorted into two discrete types - large-spotted (servals) and small-flecked (servalines) - with no intermediates.

There were other experts, conversely, such as Drs D.G. Elliot and Philip L. Sclater (a onetime Secretary of the Zoological Society of London), who adamantly refused to accept the servaline as a legitimate species - and were ultimately vindicated for their scepticism.

In 1915, a tribesman from Sierra Leone brought to attention two kittens, one a serval and the other a servaline, that he claimed were from the same litter - but as his claim was not substantiated by independent testimony, Allen would not accept it as scientific evidence. Some years later, however, Colonel C.R.S. Pitman, a Ugandan game warden with a longstanding interest in mysterious, controversial African animals, examined a sizeable collection of serval and servaline pelts while conducting a faunal survey in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), and was startled to find that they could be arranged in a sequence that produced a continuous intergradation of coat patterns conclusively linking the serval and servaline to one another.

In other words, the 'serval' and the 'servaline' were nothing more than names for the opposite ends of a spectrum of coat patterns exhibited by a single species. Pitman duly sent a selection of these significant pelts to London's Natural History Museum, and the servaline accordingly vanished from the list of feline species accepted by modern-day science. Intriguingly, exotic jet-black servals are often sighted in mountainous localities, including the Aberdares in Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro - truly a cat of many colours!

WHEN GOLD TURNS TO SILVER - LITERALLY!

With handsome golden-brown fur, the African golden cat Profelis [=Felis] aurata, seen here, was one of two closely related but ostensibly separate species of cat named from this continent in 1827 by Dutch zoologist Professor C.J. Temminck. The second was the silver cat F. celidogaster (also known as the grey cat).

Both were initially known only from western Africa, but specimens were later encountered in eastern Africa too. To make matters even more complex, western specimens of both species were often heavily marked with spots (earning them, somewhat incongruously, the alternative name of tiger cat), whereas eastern specimens of both species were generally plain.

As with the serval and servaline, zoological opinion during the 19th Century concerning whether or not the golden cat and silver cat were taxonomically distinct from one another was split - until the truth was finally exposed in a singularly memorable manner at London Zoo. In June 1906, a golden cat arrived at the zoo sporting its species' typical foxy-rufous coat colour - only to moult its fur during the next four months and replace it with the steely-coloured pelt characterising the silver cat! Thus ended the taxonomic tribulations surrounding another dimorphic denizen of the Dark Continent.

FOOLED BY FONTAINIER'S CAT?

Not to be outdone, however, for a long time the African golden cat's Asian relative, nowadays known as Temminck's golden cat Felis [=Catopuma] temminckii, posed an even trickier dilemma for science. The intricate coat markings of one of its subspecies, a large Burmese and Tibetan version known as Fontainier's cat F. t. tristis, are deceptively similar to those of a totally separate species, the leopard cat Felis [=Prionailurus] bengalensis - so much so that some zoologists were once in favour of classifying Fontainier's cat as a leopard cat subspecies instead!

And in South America, the red morph of the grey-furred jaguarundi Felis [=Puma] yagouaroundi was initially deemed to be a valid species, termed the eyra F. eyra.

Never judge a book by its cover - or a cat by its coat, it would seem!