What do black panthers eat

These include leopards , jaguars, and cougars. The largest of these three is the African Leopard. From head to tail, the Panther measures feet and weighs pounds. Its hue ranges from dark brown to black.

Panthers have black, gleaming fur coats on their lengthy bodies and tails. Their heads are pretty small, their jaws are robust and strong, their ears are rounded, their eyes are emerald green, and their legs are muscular. Panthers are mostly dark brown or black in color. Though panthers look like an entirely new species of large cat, they are actually just leopards or jaguars that have a black color mutation which turns their normally golden fur black to match their spots.

This mutation is known as melanism. It does not happen very often and is in fact quite rare. The opposite of melanism is albinism, which is even rarer in these big cats. It causes the fur to turn completely white. The typical head and body length of a leopard is between 37 and 65 inches, while the tail can be between 24 to 43 inches.

The shoulder height is 18 to 31 inches. Melanistic leopards very dark brown are commonly called black panthers. However, there is no such animal. The dark color, called melansim, is due to a recessive gene. Melanistic cubs can be born to spotted parents. Although melanistic, the black leopard has the same pattern of spots as any other leopard.

There are no solid-black big cats. For example, the scientific species name of a lion is Panthera leo , while that of a tiger is Panthera tigris. Leopards may mate all year round. The estrous cycle lasts about 46 days and the female is in heat for 6 to 7 days. The number of cubs born can range from 1 to 6, but a typical liter is 2 to 3.

Cubs are born with closed eyes, which open 4 to 9 days after birth. At 1 year of age, leopard young can probably fend for themselves but remain with the mother for 18 to 24 months. Maturity is reached at 3 years. Leopards live 12 to 15 years in the wild and up to 23 years in captivity. Depending on their continental location, leopards eat deer, monkeys, wildebeest and rodents, while jaguars hunt for deer, peccary, monkeys, tapirs, reptiles, eggs and fish, according to the Defenders of Wildlife organization.

They survive in diverse habitats ranging from mountains to deserts, Defenders of Wildlife states. Leopards are known for their stealthy hunting skills and often hide near tall grasses and watering holes, sneaking up on antelope, warthogs, cheetah cubs and other animals while they feed, according to the San Diego Zoo. When they are about 2 months old, kittens begin to accompany their mother on hunting forays.

At first she hides them nearby while she hunts. After a kill, she leads them to the site where they all feed. Gradually they are learning to hunt on their own. By nine to 12 months, they are catching small prey on their own. By one and a half years, they are still hunting small animals such as raccoon and armadillo, as well as an occasional deer or hog. Events leading up to the separation of panther mothers and their offspring are not well documented. Panther researchers have located resident adult males near females and kittens just before the kittens dispersed.

Males probably are attracted to the female's renewed sexual receptivity. Hormonal changes in the mother may cause her to encourage the offspring to disperse. In any case, by age two panther young have left their mothers to establish ranges of their own.

Young females often establish a range that overlaps with their mother's range but male offspring usually are forced out of their mother's range by older males. Panthers, like most cats, are solitary hunters.

They are most active at the same time their prey is likely to be active: dawn and dusk. Biologists refer to animals that are most active at these times as crepuscular. During the day and particularly in the summer, panthers usually rest in a day bed made within the shade of a palmetto thicket. When hunting, panthers stalk their prey, moving silently and then freezing their motion to avoid detection.

Unlike dogs and wolves, that chase their prey until it tires, panthers rush short distances and spring as far as 15 feet for the kill. With claws extended, their front paws grasp the prey around its neck and shoulders while the claws of the hind feet dig into the prey's flanks. Panthers usually kill large prey by a bite to the back of the neck severing the spinal cord.

Sometimes the animal is killed by a suffocating bite to the throat. Young deer and smaller mammals may be killed by bites to the skull. After the kill, a panther will drag large animals such as deer or hog into an area of thick vegetation. A mother with kittens old enough to travel outside the den will call or lead her kittens to the kill.