Hamerton Zoo Park have welcomed their latest arrival, a "sassy and playful" Black Leopard called Lela.
Lela, whose full name is Daniele, is a one-year-old Black Leopard who was born at Lumingy Safari Reserve, just outside of Paris, France, and brought over to Hamerton Zoo in December last year.
The Park have said that Lela has "settled in amazingly" and her "playful and sassy" sides have shone through since she's been at Hamerton.
Black Leopards are not a different species to a regular leopard, but are instead a colour variant.
Educations Officer at Hamerton Zoo Park, Megan Jones, said: "The colour variant is brought about by a recessive, inherited mutation in the ASIP (Agouti Signalling Protein) gene.
"This mutation is called melanism, and causes an overproduction of melanin, leading to a darker external pigmentation, relative to what would be considered typical.
"Despite this, Black Leopards maintain their rosette pattern which can be seen in certain lighting conditions."
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Megan added: "Melanism is relatively common within the cat family, having been documented within 13 of 37 species, and within the Leopard species, it is thought roughly 11% are melanistic.
"In areas such as the Malay Peninsula, some estimate the frequency could be as high as 90% of individuals."
The path around Lela's enclosure was opened at the start of March.
A spokesperson for the Zoo said: "To get the best view of her, and to allow her time to adjust to seeing everyone closer, we are asking for a little bit of quietness."
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