Facts and Appearance of Panther

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family : Felidae

Genre : Panthera

Scientific Name:Panthera pardus ,Panthera ounces

Common Name : Panther

Otro nombre ( s ) :Black Panther ,Black Leopard,Black Jaguar

Group: Mammal

Number of species : 31

Location : Asia , Africa, Latin

Habitat : Forest, wetlands and grasslands

Color : Dark Coffee , Black

Skin Type :Fur 

Size ( L ) : 1.1 m - 1.9 m ( 43in - 75 inches)

Weight: 36 kg - 160 kg ( 79 lbs - 350 lbs)

Maximum speed : 114kph ( 71 mph )

Diet : Carnivorous

Prey : deer , tapir , wild boar

Predators : Human , Lion , Hyena

Lifestyle : Nocturnal

Group behavior : Solitary

Life Period: 12-15 years

Edad of sexual maturity : 3-4 years

Gestation period : 90-105 days

Average Litter Size : 3

Name of Young : Cub

Weaning Age : 3 months

Conservation Status: Threatened

Size of the estimated population : Unknown

Major threatens :Loss of Habitats 

More distinctive trait : bright green eyes

Funny facts: prefer to hunt for the night than in the day it !

Classification of Panther 

The Panther (also known as the Black Panther ) is known as the largest member of the big cat family found in Asia,Africa and Americas.The panther is the general name used to refer to any black color feline of big cat family,especially leopards and jaguars.The panther is an powerful animal that has adapted easily to different habitats around  world and is known to be one of the strongest climbers in felines.Despite the panther is not technically classified as a separate species,which are considered to be endangered by many because of the decreased number of the leopards and jaguars in their environment.

Anatomy and appearance of Panther 

The panther tends to be dark brown to black in color and is identical to the feline species to which it belongs .The only exception to this is the Florida Panther in the southeastern region of the U.S.,which is believed to be a subspecies of  Cougar and is quite rarely dark brown and tends to have speckled appearance.Unlike leopards and jaguars ,the Panther has no spots on its body or tail ,but has a bright layer of dark skin. Panthers have small heads with strong jaws and green eyes  and tend to have hind legs that are larger and slightly longer than the front.As a member of the big cat family ,the panther is not only one of the largest cats in the world, but is also able to roar ,which other felines out of this group are not able to.

Distribution and Habitat of Panther 

Panthers found in three of the world's continents ,with its location in terms of whether or not a black leopard or Black Jaguar.There are 30 different subspecies of leopard found in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and the once natural range of Jaguar extends throughout Central and South America and even in parts of the U.S. ,Panther has become very adaptable animal found in a variety of different habitats.Although most commonly found in tropical forests and deciduous ,the panther also be found inhabiting both swamps and marshes, along with grasslands and hostile areas like deserts and mountains.Along with a number of the world's largest cat ,the panther is becoming rare in the wild ,mainly due to habitat loss of deforestation.

Behavior and lifestyle of Panther

The panther is a intelligent animal ,which is rarely seen by people in nature as they are usually very quiet and cautious animals.It's dark brown fur camouflages enables both in the surrounding forest and almost invisible in the darkness of night.The panther is a solitary animal that consists a nocturnal lifestyle ,spending much of the day hours resting high in the trees.Since both the leopard and jaguar,panthers are amazing climbers and not just resting in trees but are also able to keep eyes on prey without being seen.The panther is very powerful and fearless animal is threatned by many fact as they are  very aggressive.Panther is very territorial especially males whose home ranges coupled with those of a number of females and are threatened by another male.

Reproduction and Life Cycles of Panther

Despite living in different parts of the world ,although there are only two different species of big cats that are considered panthers, leopards and jaguars are actually closely related.Black Leopards and Jaguars often occur in the same litter as spotted cubs with female generally gives birth to 2-4 cubs after a gestation period of about three months.Panther cubs are born blind and open their eyes after they are about two weeks old. They are very vulnerable to attackers especially when left by mother who must hunt for diet.By the moment there are a few months old begin to accompany mother in  search of food and often do not leave it until two years and have an established territory for themselves.

Diet and Prey of Panther

The panther is an carnivores animal and one of the most feared and powerful predators in it's environment. The dark skin of the panther makes it almost impossible to find  which means can move through the forest completely invisible at night for hunting.Although most of  hunting appears to be on the ground, they are also known to hunt from trees.The living surrounding of panther decides the actual diet in spite of medium to large sized herbivores comprise the major part of many big cats.Animals such as deer,wild boar,Warthogs, tapir and Antelope are hunted by Panthers ,along with the smaller species ,such as birds and rabbits in larger prey is scarce.

Attackers and Fears of Panther

The jaguar is the largest feline in the America and Panthers in New World are the dominant predators within their environments.Those found in Africa and Asia are sometimes prey to other large carnivores such as lions and hyenas ,but the most common predator and the greatest threat to the Panthers are people.Not only these animals were hunted by people, but they have also undergone drastic habitat loss particularly due to deforestation , increasing both human settlements and agriculture.Population figures of big cats are declining worldwide and when they are being directed into smaller pockets of natural habitat they are getting rarer than they already available.

Facts and Features of Panther

According to science,although technically only black leopards and jaguars are generally regarded ,the term is also used to describe a series of dark hair cats in their native habitats  including lions, tigers , cougars ,Puma and lynx.Some Panthers are actually able to swim ,but not those who are leopards, and jaguars are known to have attraction towards water.Not only these prefer flooded forests ,but spend a significant amount of time swimming,playing and hunting in the water.

Relationship of humans with Panther

Big Cats of the world have been hunted by people as both trophies and for their skin especially in the last two centuries.This caused huge declines in population numbers of leopards and jaguars with them after have completely disappeared from some areas.Panthers have also been subjected to severe habitat degradation in much of Asia,Africa and America, which means that these elusive predators are now even rarer.They are rarely seen by people who are really just always aware of the presence of a panther by its tracks on the floor and scratch marks on trees.Also Panthers are often referred to as " the ghost of the forest ' .

Today's Status and Life of Panther 

Despite the fact that panther is not a species considered by science ,both leopards and jaguars are increasingly vulnerable along of its natural range and listed as threatned species by IUCN.However,due to the fact that two individuals carrying genes  mate to produce a Black Panther and the chance of this is diminished due to loss of natural habitats  ,many wildlife experts consider these as endangered animals worldwide .