Black panther

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the 2018 Marvel movie, see Black Panther (film). For the U.S. political party, see Black Panther
Party. For other uses, see Black Panther (disambiguation).

A melanistic jaguar at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Melanism is the result of a dominant allele and is relatively
common in jaguars.

A melanistic Indian leopard in Nagarhole National Park

A black panther is the melanistic color variant of any big cat species. Black panthers
in Asia and Africa are leopards (Panthera pardus), and those in the Americas are
black jaguars (Panthera onca)
Melanism in the genus Panthera
Melanism in the jaguar is conferred by a dominant allele, and in the leopard (Panthera pardus) by
a recessive allele. Close examination of the color of these black cats will show that the typical
markings are still present, but are hidden by the excess black pigment melanin, giving an effect
similar to that of printed silk. This is called "ghost striping". Melanistic and non-melanistic animals
can be littermates. It is thought that melanism may confer a selective advantage under certain
conditions since it is more common in regions of dense forest, where light levels are lower.[citation
needed]
Recently, preliminary studies also suggest that melanism might be linked to beneficial mutations
in the immune system.[3]

Leopard

A melanistic leopard from the Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde, Arizona

Markings on a female black leopard at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve, Kromdraai, South Africa

Melanism is relatively common in leopards, with melanistic individuals making up approximately 11%
of the species, occurring at very different rates in different subspecies with non-random distribution.[4]
Data on the distribution of leopard populations indicates that melanism occurs in five
subspecies: Javan leopard (P. p. melas), African leopard (P. p. pardus), Indian leopard (P. p.
fusca), Indochinese leopard (P. p. delacouri) and Sri Lankan leopard (P. p. kotiya). Black leopards
are common in the equatorial rainforest of Malaya and the tropical rainforest on the slopes of some
African mountains such as Mount Kenya.[5] They are also common in Java, and are reported from
densely forested areas in southwestern China, Myanmar, Assamand Nepal, from Travancore and
other parts of southern India where they may be more numerous than spotted leopards.[6] One was
recorded in the equatorial forest of Cameroon.[7]
The taxonomic status of captive black leopards and the extent of hybridization between different
subspecies is uncertain. Therefore, coordinated breeding programs for black leopards do not exist in
European and North American zoos.[8] Black leopards occupy space needed for breeding of
endangered leopard subspecies and are not kept within the North American Species Survival
Plan.[9][10]
Jaguar

A melanistic jaguar

In jaguars, the melanism allele is dominant. Consequently, black jaguars may produce either black
or spotted cubs, but a pair of spotted jaguars can only produce spotted cubs. Individuals with two
copies of the allele are darker (the black background colour is more dense) than ones with just one
copy, whose background colour may appear to be dark charcoal rather than black.
The black jaguar was considered a separate species by indigenous peoples. English naturalist W. H.
Hudson wrote:
The jaguar is a beautiful creature, the ground-colour of the fur a rich golden-red tan, abundantly
marked with black rings, enclosing one or two small spots within. This is the typical colouring and it
varies little in the temperate regions; in the hot region the Indians recognise three strongly marked
varieties, which they regard as distinct species – the one described; the smaller jaguar, less aquatic
in his habits and marked with spots, not rings; and, thirdly, the black variety. They scout the notion
that their terrible "black tiger" is a mere melanic variation, like the black leopard of the Old World and
the wild black rabbit. They regard it as wholly distinct, and affirm that it is larger and much more
dangerous than the spotted jaguar; that they recognise it by its cry; that it belongs to the terra firma
rather than to the water-side; finally, that black pairs with black, and that the cubs are invariably
black. Nevertheless, naturalists have been obliged to make it specifically one with Felis
onca[Panthera onca], the familiar spotted jaguar, since, when stripped of its hide, it is found to be
anatomically as much like that beast as the black is like the spotted leopard.[11]

Jaguar x lion
A black jaguar named "Diablo" was inadvertently crossed with a lioness named "Lola" at the Bear
Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.[12] The offspring were a charcoal
black jaglion female and a tan-coloured, spotted jaglion male. It therefore appears that the jaguar
melanism gene is also dominant over normal lion colouration (the black jaguar sire was presumably
carrying the black on only one allele). In preserved, stuffed specimens, black leopards often fade to
a rusty colour but black jaguars fade to a chocolate brown colour.[citation needed]

Unconfirmed cases
Cougar
There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic cougars. Melanistic cougars have never been
photographed or killed in the wild, and none have ever been bred. Unconfirmed sightings, known as
the "North American black panther", are currently attributed to errors in species identification by non-
experts, and by the mimetic exaggeration of size. Black panthers in the American Southeast feature
prominently in Choctaw folklore where, along with the owl, they are often thought to
symbolize Death.
In his Histoire Naturelle (1749), French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, wrote of
the "Black Cougar":[13]
M. de la Borde, King’s physician at Cayenne, informs me, that in the [South American] Continent
there are three species of rapacious animals; that the first is the jaguar, which is called the tiger; that
the second is the couguar [sic], called the red tiger, on account of the uniform redness of his hair;
that the jaguar is of the size of a large bull-dog, and weighs about 200 pounds [90 kg]; that the
cougar is smaller, less dangerous, and not so frequent in the neighbourhood of Cayenne as the
jaguar; and that both these animals take six years in acquiring their full growth. He adds, that there is
a third species in these countries, called the black tiger, of which we have given a figure under the
appellation of the black cougar. The head is pretty similar to that of the common cougar; but the
animal has long black hair, and likewise a long tail, with strong whiskers. He weighs not much above
forty pounds [18 kg]. The female brings forth her young in the hollows of old trees.
This "black cougar" was most likely a margay or ocelot, which are under 18 kg (40 lb) in weight, live
in trees, and do have melanistic phases.
Another description of a black cougar[14] was provided by Thomas Pennant:
Black tiger, or cat, with the head black, sides, fore part of the legs, and the tail, covered with short
and very glossy hairs, of a dusky colour, sometimes spotted with black, but generally plain: Upper
lips white: At the corner of the mouth a black spot: Long hairs above each eye, and long whiskers on
the upper lip: Lower lip, throat, belly and the inside of the legs, whitish, or very pale ash-colour: Paws
white: Ears pointed: Grows to the size of a heifer of a year old: Has vast strength in its limbs.--
Inhabits Brasil and Guiana: Is a cruel and fierce beast; much dreaded by the Indians; but happily is a
scarce species.
According to his translator Smellie (1781), the description was taken from two black jaguars
exhibited in London some years previously.

Australia

Black panther, by Merab Abramishvili

Black panther sightings are frequently recorded in rural Victoria and New South Wales,[15] and
Western Australia. The Australian "phantom panthers" are said to be responsible for the
disappearances and deaths of numerous cats, dogs and livestock.
Animal X Natural Mysteries Unit led an investigation into the phantom panther. Mike Williams, a local
researcher, said he had sent feces and hair found by locals to labs for analysis, which identified it as
feces from dogs that had feasted on swamp wallaby, and hair from a domestic cat. Mr Williams said
he also had known leopard feces and hair collected from a private zoo tested by one of the same
labs, but that these samples came back with the same results of dog feces and domestic cat hair.
This indicated the lab incapable of distinguishing between leopard hairs and those of domestic
animals, casting doubt on the previous findings. The lab used was not identified in the episode.[16]
Pseudo-melanism

Male Persian leopard with an atypical coat pattern (Wilhelma, Germany)

Pseudo-melanism (abundism) occurs in leopards. A pseudo-melanistic leopard has a normal

background color, but the spots are more densely packed than normal and merge to obscure the
golden-brown background color. Any spots on the flanks and limbs that have not merged into the
mass of swirls and stripes are unusually small and discrete, rather than forming rosettes. The face
and underparts are paler and dappled like those of ordinary spotted leopards.[17]

Culture and literature

See also: Indian leopard § In culture and literature

 Bagheera in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling is a panther that mentors the human character
Mowgli.[18]
 The Black Panther Party was an African-American political organization.
 The Black Panther is a Marvel Comics superhero based in the fictional African country
of Wakanda.
Panther Facts – Facts About Panthers Summary

There are many intriguing panther facts about these magnificent

and secretive creatures. A panther is a melanistic color variant of
other species of big cat, usually a leopard or a jaguar. They are