What Do Panthers Eat? 15 Animals They Hunt for Food

Panthers are fierce, elegant hunters with striking features, namely their distinct black fur and piercing yellow eyes. These big cats primarily inhabit tropical forests in Africa, Asia, and South America, stalking their prey with incredible patience and precision. But what exactly is their prey? Keep reading to discover 15 animals that panthers hunt for food.

Different Types of Panthers

We’ll cover what panthers eat below, but first, there are a few things you should know about them. Contrary to popular belief, panthers are not a specific species but rather a group of large cats that fall under the Panthera genus. This genus includes lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars. However, for many people, the word “panther” refers to any leopard or jaguar with melanism, which is a high amount of black pigment in their fur. Melanism in leopards is caused by a recessive gene, while in jaguars, it is caused by a dominant allele.

There are two main types of panthers with this black fur: the melanistic jaguar (Panthera onca) and the melanistic leopard (Panthera pardus). Their diets are very similar, so let’s take a look at what these intimidating yet captivating predators eat from day to day in the wild.

What Foods Do Panthers Eat?

Panthers are generally nocturnal carnivores. This means they are mostly active at night and primarily feed on the meat and flesh of other animals, though they may occasionally consume fruit. They typically prey on small-to-medium-sized herbivores living in their humid forest and jungle habitats. However, since they live in different locations, the specific animals they hunt can vary.

The highest percentage of Panthera pardus‘ diet is composed of wild hogs, boars, and deer. Other animals they eat include rabbits, warthogs, fish, baboons, antelopes, jackals, gazelles, monkeys, reptiles, sheep, goats, wildebeest, and rodents.

Peccaries, deer, and tapirs are some of the most frequent prey of Panthera onca. However, they will also eat smaller mammals such as capybaras, agoutis, pacas, raccoons, opossums, armadillos, and rabbits. Their diet also includes large ground birds, caimans, turtles, fish, and livestock — especially when human encroachment threatens their hunting grounds.

Incredibly, this list doesn’t even come close to covering all of the foods a panther may eat. Since they are apex predators and aren’t very picky eaters, panthers will feed on just about any animal that moves. In fact, studies have shown that Panthera onca commonly eat as many as 85 different species of animals of varying sizes, from small birds and reptiles to large mammals.

How Do Panthers Hunt Their Prey?

Panthers are expert hunters who mainly stalk their prey slowly and quietly, waiting for the right moment to strike. They have extremely strong jaws and sharp teeth that can crush the skulls of even large mammals and reptiles with ease. Their dark fur also helps them to blend in with the darkness of the night, which is when they prefer to hunt due to their nocturnal nature.

While many predatory animals will chase their prey for long distances, panthers prefer to ambush their prey after stalking them for hours or even days. Instead of chasing their prey until it becomes too tired to keep running, a panther will follow its prey silently, staying out of sight and only revealing itself mere seconds before striking. Panthera onca frequently hunts near water for aquatic prey, while Panthera pardus prefers to stay on land. Panthera pardus is believed to be even stealthier than Panthera onca, and may even drag its kills up trees to avoid other predators.

Do Panthers Have Any Predators?

Because panthers are apex predators, they don’t really have any natural predators to watch out for, other than humans. However, they do have quite a bit of competition for food from other large carnivores, primarily other big cats.

In some cases, these big cats may even prey upon and eat each other. This is very rare, however, and they usually only resort to this kind of behavior when they are desperate, starving, and unable to find any other smaller animals to feed on.