Panther

 

True Wild Life | Panther | The term panther tends to be a general name that could refer to a few species of cat including the leopard, the cougar and the jaguar. The black panther is generally thought to refer to the black leopard, although it can also refer to the black jaguar. There have occasionally been reports of black cougars, but none have been documented with photos or a specimen. The panther tends to be black in colour and is otherwise identical to the feline species to which it belongs. The only real exception to this is the Florida panther found in the south east region of the USA, that is believed to be a subspecies of cougar and is quite rarely dark brown in colour. The Florida panther tends to have more of a speckled appearance.

The term "white panther" could refer to the leucistic or albino specimen of any of the three species mentioned. White jaguars have been documented, as has the occasional white leopard. There is a photo of a mostly white cougar killed by a hunter, and there are currently reported sightings of another. As with many other species of large cat, the numbers of both the normal spotted and the black panthers are declining rapidly due to hunting and habitat loss.

The cougar and the jaguar are found in the Americas. The leopard is found in Africa and Asia and tends to prefer dense, thick foliage and tropical forests. All three species are adept tree climbers. In addition, the jaguar is an enthusiastic swimmer that will even tackle crocodiles. As with other species of large feline, panthers are carnivores and tend to hunt more at night than during the day. The panther rests in the shade during the day and will head out at night to search for food. Being black can be an advantage here as they are well camoflaged in the dark.

Female panthers follow the same breeding pattern as more normally colored members of their species. In leopards the gene causing blackness is a simple recessive. Two spotted parents can have a black cub crop up in a litter if they are both carriers. In the jaguar, the gene causing melanism (blackness) is a simple dominant. Two black jaguars can produce a spotted cub. There is a black jaguar x lioness hybrid that inherited her sire's black coloration. In cougars a truly black specimen has never been documented. Its mode of inheritance is currently unknown.

Mountain Lion

True Wild Life | Mountain Lion | The mountain lion is one of the biggest species cat native to the mountains of the Americas. The mountain lion is thought to be a subspecies of cougar that is strictly confined to the mountainous areas. The mountain lion is a highly adaptive feline, able to withstand the harsh conditions in the Rocky and Andes mountains. The mountain lion does not hibernate and therefore the mountain lions undergo uncompromising winters.

Mountain lions tend to hunt rabbits, hares and larger birds, and without doubt deer and elk if they were to come across it. The mountain lion has no real natural predators although the mountain lion needs to be wary of bears due to the bears severe size advantage.

Female mountain lions tend to have one litter of kittens every two or three years. The female mountain lion kitten litter size can range from one mountain lion kitten to six. Female mountain lions are extremely protective over their mountain lion kittens and some female mountain lion individuals have been known to fight to off large mammals, including grizzly bears, with success.

Baby mountain lions are born blind, and these mountain lion kittens are completely dependent on their mother at first until the mountain lion kittens are around three months of age. As the mountain lion kittens grow, they begin to go out with their mother, first visiting kill sites, and after six months, the mountain lion kittens begin to hunt small prey on their own.

Cougar

True Wild Life | Cougar | The cougar is native to the Americas, particularly south America and western North America and is often known by other names such as mountain lion, puma and panther. Cougars can be found mainly in the mountain regions of Canada and Mexico, but as the name cougar is often used to describe an un-spotted leopard, cougars are also found in Asia and Africa. The cougar is the fourth biggest feline in the world behind the lion, tiger and jaguar, making the cougar the second largest cat in the Americas. The cougar has longer back than front legs and a long heavy body.

Cougars prey on large mammals such as moose, deer, elk and stray wolves and can often go for long periods of time without food. Cougars are also well known for their amazing ability to jump up to 30ft. Cougars tend to have between 1 and 4 cubs, generally during the spring and summer time when the adult cougars are hunting well again after the harsh winters. A cougar typically lives until its about 20 years old.

Due to the cougars vast range, the cougar is known in different places by different names. Until the late 1990s there were thought to be 32 different species of cougar inhabiting both North and South America. Recent studies however, have shown that the DNA of the majority of the 32 cougar species was too similar. There are therefore only 5 different species of cougar found on the American continent.

Today the cougar is only found in parts of Florida in North East America and the cougars range on the west coast has been dramatically reduced by human interference. The cougar is most commonly found in the Canadian Rockies and the more mountainous regions of Southern Mexico.