In fact, the word “panther” hides not a separate biological species, and a whole genus of the cat family, which includes such formidable predators like the lion, jaguar and leopard. As for the well-known black panther, it is usually a leopard or jaguar, which has a corresponding black color.
Why is the panther black?
The panther's black coloring is caused by special mutations in the animal's genes known as melanism. Such a mutation is very common among predatory felines, for example, in Malaysia, approximately half of all leopards there are black in color as a result of melanism and, in fact, are black panthers.
The black color of these animals often has practical significance(after all, nature is always wise in its actions), so many black panthers live in dense forests, where, with a lack of lighting, dark animals are less noticeable, which makes their life much easier.
Panther: description, structure, characteristics. What does a panther look like?
The calling card of any panther is its signature black color. Although if you look at the panther more closely, you will notice that its fur is covered with dark spots of different shades, all this creates the appearance of a black color.
Panthers are large predators, the weight of a panther can reach 40-50 kg. The body is oblong and reaches up to two meters in length.
The panther also has four powerful and large paws, with long and sharp claws that retract into the fingers (their structure is approximately the same as that of the kindest feline - the domestic cat).
The panther's head is very large, somewhat elongated, and there are small ears on the top of the head. The panther's eyes are medium-sized with large pupils. Panther also has in stock sharp teeth and powerful jaws.
The panther has fur all over its body and also has a very long tail, which can sometimes be up to half the length of the animal.
Where does the panther live?
Panthers live over a wide geographical range, many of them live on African continent, especially in the mountains of Ethiopia and Kenya. They are also found in Asia and South America, only, of course, the black panthers of South America have a significant difference from the black panthers of Asia, there they are actually black jaguars, while in Asia they are black leopards.
What does a panther eat?
All panthers are ferocious and dangerous predators, and one of the most dangerous among the cat family. If a panther is hungry, it can easily attack any nearby game, including humans. But most often the panther gets to eat various herbivores: zebras, buffalos, antelopes. Sometimes the panther is not averse to having a snack and... Domestic animals: cows, sheep, horses, also finding themselves unattended in the jungle, have a high chance of becoming food for panthers.
Panthers always go hunting at night; in the dark, thanks to their black color, they become practically invisible, which gives them the opportunity to watch for potential prey without any problems.
Panther lifestyle
Panthers, like real representatives of the cat family, are true individualists, preferring to live alone, or in pairs of male + female. Occasionally they can gather in a pride, as lions do, creating a small family of panthers, but this does not happen often.
Panthers are territorial animals; each panther has its own specific territory, so to speak, hunting grounds, where it is not advisable for other panthers to enter.
Panthers lead night look life, which is greatly facilitated by their black color, thanks to which night hunting is much more preferable for the panther than chasing game during the day.
How long does a panther live?
The lifespan of a panther, like many other representatives of the cat family, is on average 10-12 years, but there have been cases when a panther lived up to 20 years.
Panther breeding
Panthers reach sexual maturity by 2-3 years. And since they live in a constantly warm climate, they can reproduce all year round. The male, having found a suitable female, has sexual intercourse with her. Having become pregnant, the female looks for a safe and comfortable place to give birth.
The pregnancy itself in a female panther lasts 3-3.5 months. Usually, a panther gives birth to two or three small kittens (well, not really kittens), like the babies of an ordinary cat, at first they are blind, and only then their eyes appear. At first, mother panther does not leave her babies, feeding them milk, while dad, like a real breadwinner, brings food.
In general, panthers are very caring towards their offspring, and at an older age, the mother panther teaches her cubs how to move correctly, hunt and other intricacies of their animal life. When a panther reaches a year, it already becomes a fully grown animal ready for independent life.
- Great popularity in popular culture got the panther thanks to the book English writer Kipling's "Mowgli", as we remember, a black panther named Bagheera was one of the main positive characters of this book.
- The panther also found its place in heraldry, as it was the emblem of the English kings Henry IV and Henry VI.
- As the personification of valor and courage, the panther is present on the coat of arms African state Gabon.
Black Panther video
And in conclusion, an interesting documentary video about a black panther/leopard.
Actually, a panther is none other than one of the representatives of leopards. They are distinguished due to the fact that, unlike ordinary leopards that we are accustomed to, panthers are melanistic animals that have only one even color. That is why they are called black panthers.
We decided to write about them separately from leopards due to the fact that panthers are more aggressive than most leopards. Panthers can get quite close to humans because they have absolutely no fear of people.
The panther is a very beautiful and graceful animal. The body length reaches 91-180 cm, the tail - 75-110 cm, weight is usually 32-40 kg, but occasionally exceeds 100 kg. They are found exclusively in tropical countries, especially on the island of Java.
Black individuals can appear in spotted parents, along with kittens that, like the parents, have spots. But subsequently, as happened in Java, the panthers gradually separated and interbred only with each other. Some zoologists say that there is a possibility of a complete separation of panthers from leopards in the near future, which will turn them into separate species.
It happens that this predator lives not far from settlements, stays alone and goes out hunting at night. He climbs trees very well, often settling there for a day's rest or in ambush, and sometimes even catching monkeys in trees. However, the panther mainly hunts on the ground. Panthers sleep in trees, stretched out on branches with their paws hanging down. They can jump onto trees up to 5.5 meters high. There is one significant feature that distinguishes leopards from others big cats: This is the habit of dragging its prey into trees. Thus, their food remains safe and does not reach other predators - lions and hyenas.
Panthers are excellent predators. Well-developed sense organs help them in this. In addition, the coloring of panthers is the most suitable: it is impossible to see them in the dark, and they sneak up completely silently.
Panthers, when they are well-fed, will not attack even a small kid if it walks near the nose of a wild cat. But when a panther is hungry, it will attack everything. The danger for people is that panthers can settle near human habitation. If the panther is hungry for a long time, then the cat can easily enter villages and cities. Since panthers are night hunters, they often attack sleeping people. Although panthers become cannibals much less often than, say, tigers or lions.
The black panther is a very beautiful and graceful animal. Most people associate the panther with Kipling's fairy tale "Mowgli". Remember Bagheera with her exquisite grace and impressiveness? It is not for nothing that in Sumerian mythology it is the animal panther that personifies the goddess of love and fertility.
Is a panther a leopard?
In general, the black panther is quite rare in nature. From the point of view, not a separate species of animal, but simply melanism
(genetic color variant) observed in different representatives Usually a leopard or jaguar falls into this category.
The black panther is an animal, to put it mildly, not entirely black... Its skin is not perfectly black! If you look closely, you can see spots appearing to a greater or lesser extent. Zoologists do not differentiate in any way between ordinary spotted and black leopards (for those who still don’t understand, these are the same animal - a panther and a leopard). These individuals interbreed well and quite numerous offspring are born. Cubs can be the most different colors: from brightly spotted to black with barely visible spots.
Beware, predator!
Friends, the black panther is not only the most graceful, but also, perhaps, the most real bloodthirsty beast! She is more fearless and cruel than tigers, lions and other dangerous animals. If she is hungry, then she does not stand on ceremony when choosing a “menu”... She rushes at everything that moves, including a person.
Six meters above ground level...
One of the most famous skills of this graceful cat- this is flawless tree climbing. There, panthers sometimes hunt... monkeys. Yes, and there is nothing funny about it! They do this forcedly, because sometimes on the ground their caught prey can be taken away by lions or hyenas. Panthers also sleep and rest in trees (like leopards). They stretch out on strong branches, hanging their paws and tail down. The usual height at which these cats “hang” in trees is six meters above the ground.
Hunting
The panther is simply an excellent hunter. She goes in search of her prey at night. It is not difficult to guess that it is almost impossible to see this animal in the dark. And the predator sneaks up absolutely silently. When the hunt is over, the cat drags its prey up a tree. As we said above, the killed animal there will not be available to hyenas and lions. This is what she is like - a panther (photo)!
This animal reaches a length of about 1 meter and 80 centimeters, and its individual tail reaches up to a meter.
Usually the weight of these cats does not exceed half a hundredweight, but in nature there have been individuals exceeding 100 kilograms! Their habitats are tropical countries. Today many black panthers have settled in
Interesting but true
Without a doubt, this is quite an intriguing animal. Scientists believed that a panther, when copulating with a lion, produced a hybrid - leopards (hence, by the way, the word “leo” in the name, as well as “pard” - the old version of the word “panther”). However, this intrigue was soon revealed. It has now been scientifically proven that the panther is still a subspecies of leopards. Today, zoologists do not exclude the possibility of panthers becoming an independent zoological species, that is, their separation from leopards.
This black beauty is a flexible and fearless animal. The panther is the heroine of numerous fairy tales, legends and myths. Goddess of the animal world, graceful and majestic... This is all a black panther - a wild cat. One of the most mysterious predators on our planet.
Why black?
It is a mistaken belief that a panther must be black. This is wrong. The fact is that the black panther is not a separate species, but just a subspecies of the cat family. In fact, it is a leopard or jaguar with black fur. Such animals are also called melanists, and their color is determined by their habitat and lifestyle. Since the black panther lives in dense forests and hunts at night, it is convenient for it to have this color. At the same time, its mountain relatives are white, and the abodes of savannahs and steppes are yellow with black speckles.
By the way, the skin of a black panther is often heterogeneous. It may have light spots and be brown with a black tint. Panthers of different colors interbreed well and produce offspring. If in a family one of the parents is black and the other is yellow, then the cubs are most likely to be yellow, since this color is genetically stronger. To be guaranteed to get dark offspring, you need to cross two black individuals.
Physiological characteristics of the black panther
The Panther is a well-built wild cat with a harmonious, flexible body, beautiful strong paws and long tail. Its weight is approximately 60 kg, its height is 70 cm, and its body length is from one to two meters. This is a very graceful animal. The panther has well-developed sense of smell, which helps it hunt. The movements of a wild cat are smooth and silent. This plus the black color, which allows it to blend into the night, allows the predator to sneak up on the prey unnoticed and take it by surprise.
An interesting feature of panthers is their specific larynx, which can inflate thanks to the flexible bone of the hyoid apparatus. This structure of the vocal apparatus allows them to produce chilling roar She runs at a speed of 60 m/s, and her jump height reaches six meters. As you can see, this wild cat is a fairly fast animal. The panther easily catches up with its prey.
Lifespan
A panther lives on average 12 years. In captivity, its lifespan increases to 20. True, keeping a black cat in a cage, much less training it, is not the best idea. After all, the panther is very aggressive, willful and has no fear of anyone. Neither before the king of beasts - the lion, nor before the ruler of the planet - man. Being around her is simply dangerous.
Where does the black panther live and how does it hunt?
The main habitat of black panthers is rainforests Africa, Asia and South America. Most often, they prefer to stay away from human habitation, but there are also cases when wild cats live near villages and cities.
Panther is a predator. Her favorite food - meat of large and medium-sized ungulates, but in the most extreme cases she can be content with monkeys, bird eggs and even fruits. Panthers in the wild are able to go without food for 4-5 days. And when they are hungry, they represent a terrible force that threatens even humans. There are frequent cases of panthers attacking sleeping people, and a cow stolen from a barn is generally a common occurrence. At the same time, a well-fed panther will not touch even a kid located at an outstretched paw distance.
The predator looks out for and kills its victims on the ground (often at watering holes), and likes to dine in a tree, lying on its stomach and tearing off large pieces of meat with a jerk of its head. There, among the branches, at a height of more than five meters, she sleeps during the day before the night hunt.
Features of reproduction
Pregnancy in panthers lasts 3-3.5 months, after which charming kittens are born. Most often there are two of them, less often - one and very rarely - 4-5 babies. Large litters are typical for cats living in warm regions. Panther - caring mother. For childbirth she is looking for a deaf one, dark place away from prying eyes. This could be either a hole under the roots of trees, or a cave, or a hollow.
The wild cat devotes all her time to the kids. She does not leave them for a minute and does not let anyone, not even the father, near her children. Without hesitation he would give his life for them. For the first 10 days, the panther practically does not eat or drink, since it does not leave its den. She is content only with what the male brings her, and sometimes drives herself to starvation. When the kittens become sighted and begin to hear, the mother slowly returns to her former life, but continues to care for the children until they are one year old.
Panther in mythology and fairy tales
The most famous representative of these wild cats is the heroine of the fairy tale “Mowgli” by Kipling. By the way, in the original “The Jungle Book” it was not about the beautiful Bagheera, but about a handsome man named Bagheera. The gender change occurred already during translation into Russian.
And, of course, Kipling is not the first to put the panther on a pedestal. For example, the Sumerians considered her the goddess of fertility and love; the Chinese associated the panther with woman in all its forms; For the Indians, the black jaguar was the embodiment of limitless strength and power. Even christian religion did not ignore this unique animal. In the Hebrew commentary Holy Scripture The name of Mary’s husband, Joseph, is translated as “panther,” and this man himself is endowed with the gift of healing from illness and salvation from certain death.
This is such a unique animal. The panther is highly respected by humans, and this is not surprising. After all, she is not only dazzlingly beautiful. Her intelligence, wisdom, dexterity and desperate fearlessness evoke genuine admiration!
For me, Panther is, first of all, a character from the cartoon "Mowgli". Graceful, powerful, wise Bagheera. So it stuck in my mind.
By the way, in Kipling’s immortal “The Jungle Book” the black wild cat panther is not a female, but a male named Bagheer (a very common male name V Asian countries). And the creators of the Soviet cartoon endowed their character with such qualities that he became the embodiment of femininity. Intelligence, dexterity, mystery, grace... Just look at the sparkling eyes on a black background! This is probably why the image of a black cat with burning eyes began to symbolize a cunning, dexterous, intelligent, graceful, mysterious woman...
Let's return to our question. Is the panther a black animal? Not necessary! The fact is that the panther is not a separate, independent species of animal. This is a genus of felines that includes the tiger, lion, jaguar and leopard. And dark coat color is the result of an inherited genetic change called melanism. Most often, leopards and jaguars have a black color variant.
In general, the panther is a representative of leopards. They are distinguished because they are distinguished from ordinary leopards by their color and size. That is, they are melanistic animals. And panthers are usually larger and stronger than their spotted relatives.
Panthers (lat. Panthera) are a genus of large animals in the cat family, consisting of four well-known species: tiger (lat. Panthera tigris), lion (lat. Panthera leo), leopard (lat. Panthera pardus) and jaguar (lat. Panthera onca).
They have a special structure of the larynx that allows them to produce a roar. The fact is that in representatives of the genus the hyoid apparatus is not completely ossified - in place of one of the bones there is a flexible ligament that allows the larynx to swell. Additionally, their vocal cords are undivided and form a tubular structure that functions as a very efficient sound-producing device.
There has been much debate regarding the taxonomy of the panther genus, and its classification has been revised several times. The genus is likely descended from the extinct cat Panthera schaubi, which is sometimes also considered an early member of the puma genus. The panther genus probably originated in Asia. Divergence of big cats (including existing genera of panthers, snow leopard and clouded leopard - Neofelis) from the subfamily of small cats (Felinae) (containing all other modern views cats) took place between six and ten million years ago. A study of fossil remains shows that the panther genus appeared between 2 and 3.8 million years ago.
Morphological and genetic studies suggest that the tiger was the first species of the genus to deviate from the main line. The snow leopard was previously placed at the core of the panther genus, but recent molecular studies suggest its placement within the genus, perhaps even being a close species to the leopard. Therefore, many classification systems place the snow leopard in the genus Panthera, but there is no consensus regarding its placement (under the name Panthera uncia) or its conservation own kind Uncia
Also included in the genus is a prehistoric feline probably closely related to the modern jaguar, Panthera gombaszogensis, often called the European jaguar. This species appeared about 1.6 million years ago in the territory of modern Italy. The genus clouded leopard (Neofelis) is closely related to the genus panther, but is not part of it
The sizes of representatives of the genus are large and very large. Refers to the genus largest representative the entire cat family - Amur subspecies tiger The body is elongated, sometimes strongly. The sacral region is not high, and the line of the back does not rise from behind, as in small cats, but goes straight. The height at the shoulders (at the withers) is greater than in the sacrum area, while the back line slopes slightly at the rear. The tail is usually long, accounting for at least half the body length, in some species a little more. The head is relatively large or large, somewhat elongated, with an elongated facial part. The ears are small, short, with a rounded top, without a tassel at the end. In male lions, as well as in other species in winter fur, they protrude slightly from the fur. Eyes with a round pupil.
Sometimes the hair on the cheeks is elongated and forms the so-called. tanks, the male lion has a developed mane in the front part of the body, and the tail has a tassel of elongated hair at the end. The legs are short and thick, strong, with a wide paw, especially the front one. The claws on the paws are large, sharp and curved, fully retractable. At the ends of the fingers on the sides of the claw there is a fold of skin that completely hides the retracted claw. The color is one-color or with black transverse stripes, or on the main light background there are black spots - single or rosette-shaped. Dental system complete. The teeth are very strong, the canines are relatively short but powerful, with a wide base. Sexual dimorphism in most species is expressed in larger sizes of males. The male lion is distinguished by the development of the mane on the front part of the body.
Thanks to special structure sublingual apparatus, larynx along with its vocal cords They are distinguished by great mobility, which provides the ability to emit a loud, rough roar. Incapable of purring.
All representatives of the genus are active predators, hunting mainly large mammals, mainly ungulates. Often the prey exceeds the size of the hunter, sometimes several times. They hunt stealthily and from ambush (on trails, near watering holes). They eat prey primarily while lying on their belly and resting their forearms and elbows on the underlying substrate; pieces of prey are torn off by jerking their heads upward. Mostly active at night, although often active during the day. With the exception of the lion, they are solitary animals. The lion is distinguished by the fact that it always stays and hunts in small packs called prides. They live in both lowland and mountain forests, sometimes in open treeless mountain ranges and reed thickets; one species (lion) is an inhabitant of open steppes, savannas and semi-deserts.
The range of the genus includes Africa, the extreme southeast of Europe, Asia except the northern part, southern and Central America and the very south North America.
Panthers are very graceful and beautiful. They can reach 180 centimeters in length, their tail can be a maximum of 110 centimeters, average weight body - 35-40 kilograms, occasionally individuals weighing more than 100 kilograms are found. Panthers live in tropical countries; there are especially many of them on the island of Java.
It is worth noting that panthers can also appear in ordinary leopards, along with cubs that have spots. Panthers also give birth to offspring, which can include both black and spotted kittens (although spotting often wins). Black cats get along well with their spotted relatives: in general, they are no different from each other, except for color. This is what this guy ordered amazing world, to give the animals inhabiting it an extra bonus for survival. Scientists put forward the opinion that black individuals still prefer to live separately, and that in the future panthers will finally separate from leopards and form the new kind.
For example, in Malaysia, almost half of the leopards have black coat color. In general, a mutating gene is characteristic of predatory cats living in dense forests, where a ray of light rarely reaches: animals with a black color are less noticeable here, and this makes their life much easier. (Here you can remember why the handsome white lion does not live in the wild).
Among leopards, there are individuals with incomplete melanism: the spots on the skin blur, merging into a fuzzy, bizarre pattern.
Panthers are predatory animals. Their prey is mainly ungulates, the size of which sometimes exceeds the size of the hunters themselves by several times. These cats hunt mainly in the dark, they are less active during the day, but this does not mean that potential prey should not be afraid of them if the sun has not yet disappeared below the horizon.
Panthers are solitary animals. The only exceptions can be considered lions, who live and hunt in packs, prides.
IN philosophical works To the ancient Greeks, the panther symbolized Venus, the warlike goddess of love. The transition of the Panther from the space of ancient myths to the space of Christian culture was marked by a curious metamorphosis: the predator became a meek creature. This was apparently influenced by the fact of her opposition to the serpent.
St. Augustine was attracted by the sacred component of the image of the panther, but its appearance underwent such a deep reworking that it actually set a new perspective, excluding any hint of the pagan past of the Mistress of Beasts. Rejecting Roman and Greek cults, he writes that the panther has the following property: of all animals it is the most amiable and the enemy of the snake, multi-colored, like Joseph’s tunic, and beautiful: silent and very meek. When he has eaten and is satisfied, he sleeps in the den. On the third day he rises from sleep and roars in a loud voice, screaming. From her voice comes every kind of fragrance. Both distant and nearby animals hear her voice. And from her voice comes all kinds of fragrant aromas. And following the fragrance of the panther's voice, the animals come to her. And he interprets it as follows: “So also our Lord Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the third day, became a fragrance to those far and near and peace. As the apostle said: “Many-colored is the mental wisdom of our Savior Jesus Christ.”49 And the psalm says: “The queen stood at your right hand in an embroidered robe of gold, dressed and adorned.”* But the enemy of the panther is the apostate serpent that is in the water. Christ is multicolored - he is chastity, abstinence, mercy, faith, virtue, like-mindedness, peace, patience. It is not without meaning that the Scriptures speak about birds and beasts."
Later, in Christian philosophical treatises, the panther and loving predator finally turned into a very calm and meek beast, symbolically even asexual. IN Christendom The panther was doomed to embody the resurrection of Christ51. The reason for this, as follows from the descriptions, was her beauty and strength.
Both the ancients and the Christians commonly depicted the spotted panther (white with black spots). Moreover, these spots also had certain interpretations based on beliefs.
In the Middle Ages, the panther, already as a Christian symbol, was often used on family coats of arms. In particular, the Panther in heraldry is a symbol of a brave, courageous and noble knight. The leopard (spotted panther) has always been considered the traditional emblem of England, a symbol of the constant desire for freedom.
Panther had a big symbolic meaning among many peoples, and not always positive.
So in Ancient Egypt, Panther is evil incarnate. During funeral rites, Egyptian priests covered themselves with the skins of leopards or panthers to protect themselves from the God of Evil - Set. These animals were an invariable attribute of his images.
In Italy, the Panther is the personification of swagger, but at the same time, the emblem of craft guilds and associations in Medieval Florence. For many peoples of Mesopotamia, the image of a panther covering its muzzle with its paws is a symbol of deception, fraud, for only beautiful fur is shown, and the evil grin is hidden...
In Western Asia and North Africa The panther serves as a symbol of deceit.
In Sumer, the panther was a symbol of the goddess Inanna, and was also a symbol of the goddess Cybele.
IN Ancient China, there was an ambivalent assessment of this animal. On the one hand, due to the fact that the panther was considered extremely dangerous beast, its tail was mounted on battle wagons as a field sign. If beautiful woman was aggressive, it was called the nickname “spotted panther”. Those. one side of the symbolism was: rage, aggressiveness, ferocity. On the other hand, the panther together with the magpie, thanks to a play on words, mean good news in the image.
The winged panther is the emblem of the state of the Medes and Persians, the monarchy of Alexander the Great, called the Great.
In Ancient Mexico, the panther (melanistic jaguar) was the symbolic animal of one of the Aztec military orders (ocelots), as well as the symbol of the 14th of the twenty daily signs of the calendar.
Among the Mayan Indians, the panther (melanistic jaguar) was called “balam”, which was also the title of the priest-foreteller.
In the myths of South American tribes, the panther (melanistic jaguar) is the guardian of the shaman priests.
Panther medieval bestiaries has little in common with the animals we can see in the zoo or on the National Geographic Channel. For modern educated person The panther is a dark-colored individual of a number of species big cats(most often, this is a leopard - Panthera pardus [obsolete version - pardus, leopard] or jaguar). Was completely different panther for an educated person of the Middle Ages:
As you know, medieval bestiaries described a completely different world than the one you can see with your own eyes. And in this world of heavenly meanings panther was the image of Christ - wise and magnificent. In many ways, a similar meaning was invested in the heraldic panther. Heraldic panther always depicted as “incensed,” that is, fire-breathing (enraged), with flames escaping from her mouth and ears. Here, however, you need to keep in mind that drawing “fire from the mouth” is nothing more than a visual way to convey the idea of “fragrant breath.” And so
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