Facts abaout Black Panther – Black panther is a name that many remember; it even became a name of a popular movie. However, in actuality, black panther is very rare to be found.
There are a lot of amazing facts about black panther that will amuse you, and we have 21 of those facts listed below!
Black panther is either a leopard or a jaguar depending on where it is found. Sometimes, it is even used to describe any other dark-colored cats. Basically, the name refers to any black-furred leopards or jaguars.
The black color is the result of rare mutation, which is called melanism, that increases the pigmentation of the dark color in the skin or hair of a black panther. Here are some unique facts that you should know:
Read: Species that are endangered
21 Fun Facts about Black Panther the Animal
1. Holds The Scientific Name Of Panthera Pardus
Related to the Felidae family, black panthers are included in the member of the cats. Panthers that are from jaguar species are from Panthera orca.
The number one facts about black panther is that normal jaguars can only have regular spotted cubs, but black jaguars can either have the spotted or completely black cubs.
2. Black Panthers Are Also Called Leopards And Jaguars
Depending on where it is located, black panthers are black furred leopards and jaguars. Black leopards are referred to as black panthers in Asia and Africa, while in Latin America, jaguars are also called black panthers. In North America, it is the name of a black cougar.
In fact, the name “panther” is used to refer to other big cats as well. Even tigers, lynx, bobcats and other cats that are black-colored are often referred to as black panthers.
3. The Fifth Largest Species Of Big Cats
Big cats include leopard, jaguar, tiger, lion and snow leopard. They are all have enormous size; therefore, they are classified into big cats. The black panthers that are known currently hold the position of the fifth largest species of big cats.
Currently, the species of big cats that are living right now are the big cats we have said, along with Caracal, Lynx, Serval, Indian Bengal Tiger and several other wild big cats.
4. The Population Of Black Panther Is Almost Unidentified
As panthers are not the name of a specific animal, we are unable to identify the exact numbers of panthers in the world. Leopards and jaguars are also a secretive animal, in which they mostly hide and steer clear of dangerous opponents, such as humans.
But, there are only around 250,000 of them can be found in the world right now. Because black panthers are basically the panthers with pigmentation mutation, they are rarely found. However, black panthers are used as mascots by the soldiers of United States.
5. Has A Pigmentation Mutation Called Melanism
Melanism is a pigmentation mutation that turns the skin and hair of an animal into black. It comes out as a form of adaptation, in which an animal could survive better in the wild due to the black furs. To black panthers, this mutation is very beneficial especially when it comes to night-hunting.
This mutation doesn’t only happen to black panthers alone. A number of animals, such as squirrel, guinea pigs, and roosters can also have a melanism.
6. Panthers First Evolved In Eurasia
The ancestors of big cats separated a very long time ago. Their splits led to different evolutions among the big cats. The oldest fossil of big cats to be found was from Africa and aged around 3.8 million years old.
As for panthers, the fossil record shows that the first evolution started in Eurasia. This happened during the ice ages where they spread across Eurasia.
7. National Animal Of Gabon
As it was found in Africa, Gabon, a country in Central Africa, has named black panthers as their national animal. Black panther is chosen as the national animal because it is rare, fearless, intelligent as well as powerful.
A black panther is able to roar as the fangs are properly developed and could bite any victim to death in a single take.
8. Black Panthers Are Great Swimmers And Climbers
This strong big cat is known to be an amazing swimmer and climber. Black panthers love to dive in the water as a form of relaxing. They could also climb up to 20 feet, making them very powerful to catch any prey on a tree.
Black panther is made to be excellent at hunting, equipped with excellent sense of hearing, eyesight and jumping ability.
9. Developed To Be Excellent Hunters
Along with amazing hearing and eyesight, panthers are also equipped with large and strong paws. Supported with the sharp claws, panthers are excellent at hunting the preys.
The ways of hunting are not different with common big cats. They use element of surprise to catch the other animals, hiding in the bush and attacking the prey with a suffocating neck bite.
10. Relies On Stealth When Hunting For Foods
Panthers are carnivores, therefore they have to catch their living foods. So, they need to be fast to catch them. However, they won’t rely on speed to do this because big cats lack in stamina.
Intensive running will make them get tired and hungry easily due to over-heating. Instead of relying on speed, they will hide behind the bush, trees and across ledges. Then, they will catch the preys by surprise.
In order to hunt for food, panthers use their best strength: to be unpredictable and aggressive. This is why they are often referred to as the ghost of the forest, especially black panther, which has dark coat that helps them hide and stalk the preys even better during the night.
11. Weight Up To 96 Kilograms And Range In Length Up To 2 Meters
An adult leopard can grow as tall as 90 to 160 cm with the mass of 31 kg. Adult jaguar can grow even bigger, with the length of 1.2 to 2 m and weigh around 56 to 96 kg.
This doesn’t include the tails, which can range around 500 cm to 1 m long. These are the approximate weight and length of an adult, male panthers. As for the females, they are usually about a half or two-thirds of their size.
12. Panthers Can Roar
Along with the other big cats, namely lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar, panthers can roar loudly. This is due to their voice box where one of the bones is replaced with ligament.
The ligament can be stretched and giving them a wider range of pitch, therefore letting them roar loudly. The more the ligament is extended, the deeper the sound that panthers produce. This is because their cords are large and fleshy.
13. Panthers Are Solitary Animals
Other facts about black panther are that they don’t spend their times interacting with other animals. Instead, they are often alone while hunting for foods as well as traveling.
This is why panthers are called solitary animals, which are the opposite of social animals. Panthers don’t even spend much time with the other panthers, except during the mating season as well as raising their children.
14. Panthers Only Meet During Mating Seasons
When panthers are ready to mate, the female panthers will leave a mark of scents so that the male panthers can follow it. In addition to that, they also make a sound to attract the male panthers. This is a competition among the male panthers to mate.
Panthers are ready to mate around 2 years old, but due to the competition, male panthers may get the opportunity to mate when they are 2 to 4 years old. After they mate, the male and female panthers won’t spend much time together anymore.
15. The Gestation Period Is Around 3 To 4 Months
The female panthers will take care of the children by themselves after having them around 3-4 months. Each pregnancy will create 2 to 4 cubs, who will stay with the mothers for 2 years before traveling on their own.
They learn quickly, so only a couple of months after being born, they can already help their mother hunt. Even though they are black, black panthers may give birth to spotted cubs too.
16. The Eyes Of The Cubs Are Covered With Light Fur
When they are still newly born, the cubs’ eyes are covered with light fur. This makes the cubs blind for the first two weeks of their lives. They are small and vulnerable, in which the mother plays a big role in protecting the den. However, the mother still needs to go out to hunt, so they are prone to attacks during this time.
The cubs could accompany their mother after a couple of months. It only takes around 2 to 3 months for the young panthers to learn hunting. After nine months, they can even bring down medium-sized preys.
17. Can Live Up To 15 Years And In Captivity Up To 20
One of the facts about black panther is how they can live for a long time. They will hold their moves or even disappear when humans are nearby.
They have become used to the noises that human makes and are able to distinguish them to their preys. As a result, panthers can live from 12 to 15 years in the wild.
18. The Speed Is Up To 58 Kilometers Per Hour
Although their method of hunting is to creep up the preys as close as possible and make a sudden attack, they are actually incredibly quick. But, not so quick like cheetah which is the fastest animal in the world. Panthers can move and run up to 58 km per hour, but not for a long run.
They are low in stamina so they don’t use their speed for running; instead, the speed is used to keep up with the fast prey such as antelope and deer. Combining both ways, they like to stay close without the prey knowing and then catch them in a short spring attack.
19. The Fur Of Black Panther Is A Mix Of Colors
Even though the fur of black panther looks black, it actually is the combination of dark blue, black, grey and purple. In fact, in the mythologies of European, panther was said to be a multi-colored beast. In the myth, panthers like to have a feast by hunting many creatures and sleep in the cave for three days afterwards.
The sign of the beast awaken is the sweet-smelling yet deadly breath that could be noticed by all nearby creatures, except the dragon.
20. Australian Panthers
Australian panthers are one of the species of black panthers. They are responsible for the disappearance of several animals in rural Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia. In fact, the story of black panthers has been around as a tale in Australia.
It becomes a conspiracy theory yet a lot of sightings keep being reported. The black big cats have been spotted by a lot of people across the country. Some also found the scratch on the trees that are speculated to belong to the black panther.
21. Able To Survive In Populated Areas With Humans
Panthers are believed to have a better survival ability when are faced with humans, compared to the other big cats. However, panthers still need large wilderness areas to live and survive.
This is due to them being hunted by humans for the past centuries. The population of panthers have been declined, both leopards and jaguars. This is because the habitat of those big cats have been degrading, making the panthers even rarer than they already were.
They can still be tracked from the marks left on the ground or trees, but because they are so sneaky, it is quite hard to witness them even in the wilderness.
Panthers are not considered to be a specific species and the name is often used to refer to several big cats, especially leopards and jaguars. Nonetheless, the population of these big cats have been decreasing as they are becoming more and more vulnerable.
Their natural range and habitat has been degrading, and even with their amazing ability to survive, their number one enemy is human that catches them for personal reasons, such as for trophy and the fur.
Black panther is even rarer than the regular panthers. Despite all the amazing facts about black panther that prove that they are strong, they are still considered to be endangered in the end and may soon be included among animals that are extinct.
