An engineering student has captured stunning photographs of a rare black leopard during his first safari trip in India.

Abhishek Pangis, from Pune in western Maharashtra state, spent 40 minutes watching the majestic big cat at Tadoba Reserve last month.

The 23-year-old said he 'went blank' when he first saw the leopard on the second day of the two-day trip, reported LadBible.

After ten minutes Mr Pangis realized he was the only person on the trip with a camera and started taking photographs.

He said: 'I hadn't seen anything so beautiful, I was completely stunned. Usually people have seen it around for two or three minutes but I was very lucky as I could see it for 40 minutes.'

He watched the cat 'drinking water from a pond, marking its territory and stalking langurs and monkeys'.

Mr Pangis and his parents saw the leopard in June when it was 113F (45C) and the cat needed to leave the undergrowth for water. 

The animal's dark coat is caused by melanism - when extra black pigment develops in the skin or hair because of a recessive genetic mutation. 

Abhishek Pangis, from Pune in western Maharashtra state, spent 40 minutes watching the majestic big cat at Tadoba Reserve last month. Its dark coat is caused by melanism - when extra black pigment develops in the skin or hair because of a recessive genetic mutation

The 23-year-old said he 'went blank' when he first saw the leopard on the second day of the two-day trip, reported LadBible. After ten minutes Mr Pangis realized he was the only person on the trip with a camera and started taking photographs of the rare animal 

He watched the cat 'drinking water from a pond, marking its territory and stalking langurs and monkeys'. Mr Pangis and his parents saw the leopard in June when it was 113F (45C) and the cat needed to leave the undergrowth for water

The spectacular photographs show the gorgeous leopard, a one-of-a-kind with lustrous coat and dark black spots, marking its territory in the wild. It also chased after monkeys as those on the safari watched on

The black leopard would normally stay within the undergrowth before heading out to hunt at night. The extreme temperatures of the Indian summer forced it out from its hiding spots to get water

It comes after wildlife photographer Mithun Hunugund captured this stunning moment in which a female leopard is being shadowed by her black panther partner in Kabini, Karnataka, India

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