Panther

Quick Take

• "Panther" isn't actually a real animal, and the scientific reason why exposes a surprising truth about the big cats you thought you knew. See why it's not a species →
• Panthers do have spots, though they are hiding somewhere most people would never think to look. Find the hidden spots →
• Only some Panthers can swim, and the reason why depends on a distinction about Panthers that most people completely overlook. Discover which Panthers swim →
• A Panther's jet-black coat is a genetic fluke, and it's fading from the wild for reasons that go beyond simple habitat loss. Explore the black coat genetics →

Although technically only black Leopards and Jaguars are generally considered to be true Panthers by science, the term is also used to describe several other dark-coated cats by locals in their native habitats, including Cougars, Tigers, Pumas, lynxes, and Bobcats. The Black Panther is considered one of the most intelligent and ferocious predators in the Americas, so the image of a Panther is widely used as a logo or as a mascot for sports teams. Some Panthers are actually able to swim, including both Leopards and Jaguars, though it is Jaguars that are particularly known to have a real love of water. Not only do these individuals prefer flooded forests, but they spend a remarkable amount of time swimming, playing, and hunting in the cooling water.

3 Amazing Panther Facts

• Panthers have spots too. However, detecting them is rather difficult due to the dark background of black or brown fur.
• They’re becoming a rarer occurrence in the wild owing to deforestation.
• Their dark fur makes them virtually invisible under cover of night.

Evolution

In terms of evolution, the story of the panther shares a few similarities with that of the puma. These similarities include an ancestor that crossed the Bering Strait into North America. In the case of the panther, this forebear is believed to have been the Panthera gombaszoegensis, the earliest known Panthera species to have existed in Europe, appearing approximately two million years ago.

As for the Panthera subfamily, scientists aren’t quite certain when it separated from the Felidae family; however, records show the event occurred no more than about 11 million years ago. Experts also believe that the large felines which live in the Americas at present are actually descendants of jaguars which lived in South America’s northern environs between 300,000 and 500,000 years ago. This is another parallel that can be drawn with the puma’s own evolutionary history, since its North American population was also replenished by those from South America.

So what other member of the Panthera genus is the present-day panther closely related to? Again, scientists differ on this point, and some consider the jaguar to be more closely related to the lion (Panthera leo), while others believe the leopard (Panthera pardus) to be its closest living relative.
As for the leopard, its evolutionary history begins approximately 4.35 million years ago when it diverged within Panthera.

Classification

The Panther (also commonly known as the Black Panther) is a large member of the Big Cat family, native to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The Panther is not a distinct species itself but is the general name used to refer to any black-colored feline of the Big Cat family, most notably Leopards and Jaguars. The Panther is an elusive and powerful animal that has adapted well to a variety of habitats around the world and is known to be one of the strongest climbers of all felines. Although the Panther is not technically classified as a separate species, they are considered to be endangered by many due to the declining numbers of both Leopards and Jaguars throughout much of their natural ranges.

Anatomy and Appearance

The Panther tends to be dark brown to black in color and is otherwise identical to the feline species to which it belongs. The only real exception to this is the Florida Panther found in the southeast region of the USA, which is believed to be a subspecies of Cougar and is quite rarely dark brown in color and tends to have more of a speckled appearance.

Like Leopards and Jaguars, Panthers also have spots. Though they are so dark, they can be difficult (if not impossible) to see against the dark fur. Panthers are animals with small heads, strong jaws, and emerald green eyes and tend to have hind legs that are both larger and slightly longer than those at the front. Being a member of the Big Cat family, the Panther is not only one of the largest felines in the world, but it is also able to roar, which is something that felines outside of this group are not able to do.

Distribution and Habitat

Panthers are natively found on three of the world’s continents, with their location depending on whether or not it is a black Leopard or a Black Jaguar. There are 8 different subspecies of Leopard found across both Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and the once large natural range of the Jaguar stretched throughout Central and South America and even into parts of the USA. Although they are most commonly found in tropical and deciduous forests, the Panther can also be found inhabiting both marsh and swampland, along with grasslands and even more hostile areas such as deserts and mountains. Like many of the world’s largest felines, the Panther is becoming rarer in the wild primarily due to habitat loss through deforestation.

Behavior and Lifestyle

The Panther is an incredibly intelligent and agile animal that is very seldom seen by people in the wild as it is generally elusive. Its dark brown fur camouflages the Panther in the surrounding forest and makes it almost invisible in the darkness of night. The Panther is a solitary animal that leads a nocturnal lifestyle, spending much of the daylight hours resting safely high in the trees. Like both the Leopard and the Jaguar, Panthers are incredible climbers, and they not only rest in the trees but they are also able to keep a watchful eye out for prey without being spotted.

The Panther is an incredibly powerful and fearless animal, feared by many for its aggression. The Panther is also rather territorial, particularly in the case of males whose home ranges overlap those of a number of females.

Reproduction and Life Cycles

Although there are only two different species of big cats that are considered to be Panthers, Leopards and Jaguars are actually very closely related despite living in separate parts of the world. Black Leopards and Jaguars often occur in the same litter as spotted cubs, with the female usually giving birth to between 2 and 4 cubs after a gestation period of around 3 months (melanism, which causes a cub to be black, is determined by a recessive allele in leopards but a dominant allele in jaguars, meaning the genetics differ depending on the species). Panther cubs are born blind and do not open their eyes until they are around six to ten days old. They are incredibly vulnerable to predators, particularly when left by their mother.

They are incredibly vulnerable to predators, particularly when left by their mother, who must leave to hunt for food. By the time they are a few months old, Panther cubs begin to accompany her in search of prey and often won’t leave her until they are nearly 2 years old and have established a territory for themselves.

Diet and Prey

The Panther is a carnivorous animal and one of the most feared and powerful predators throughout its natural environment. Hunting under the cover of night, the Panther’s dark fur makes it almost impossible to spot, meaning that it can move through the jungle completely unseen. Although the majority of their hunting is actually done on the ground, they are also known to hunt from trees, meaning that they can ambush their prey from above.

The exact diet of the Panther is dependent on where in the world it lives, although medium- to large-sized herbivores comprise the bulk of the Panther’s diet. Animals including Deer, Warthogs, wild boar, tapir, and Antelope are all hunted by Panthers, along with smaller species like Birds and Rabbits when larger prey is scarce.

Predators and Threats

The Jaguar is the largest feline in the Americas, and so Panthers in the New World are the most dominant predators within their environments. Those found in Africa and Asia, however, are occasionally preyed upon by other large carnivores such as Lions and Hyenas, but the most common predator and biggest threat to Panthers is humans. Not only have these rare animals been hunted by humans throughout much of their natural range, but they have also been subjected to drastic habitat loss, particularly in the form of deforestation for growing human settlements and to make way for agriculture. Population numbers of large Cats are declining all around the world, and they are being pushed into smaller and smaller pockets of their native habitats. Panthers are becoming even rarer than they already were.

Relationship with Humans

The world’s Big Cats have been hunted by people as both trophies and for their fur, particularly over the past couple of centuries. This caused enormous declines in population numbers of both Leopards and jaguars, having actually disappeared completely from some areas of their historic range. Panthers have also been subjected to severe habitat degradation throughout much of Asia, Africa, and America, which means that these elusive predators are now even rarer. They are very rarely seen by people, who are usually only aware of a Panther’s presence through tracks on the ground and scratch marks on trees. They are in fact so sneaky that Panthers are often referred to as “the ghost of the forest”.

Conservation Status and Life Today

Although the Panther is not considered to be a species itself by science, both Leopards and Jaguars are becoming increasingly vulnerable throughout much of their natural range, with Leopards listed as Vulnerable and Jaguars listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. However, due to the fact that two gene-carrying individuals must mate to produce a Black Panther, and the chances of this are decreasing with habitat loss, many wildlife experts consider these animals to be endangered all around the world.