TIL that black panthers aren’t a distinct species - they are jaguars or leopards with “melanism”, the opposite of albinism
TIL that black panthers aren’t a distinct species - they are jaguars or leopards with “melanism”, the opposite of albinism
The trait is caused by a recessive allele in the leopard, and a dominant allele in the jaguar.
You're viewing a single thread.
Can a panther be born from two black panthers and not be black? I don't know about their habits, do they have prides and would that pride end up with mixed black panthers, Leopards, Jaguars in it? or do these get kicked out?
Lions are the only big cats that form prides (and interestingly have never been observed with melanism IIRC), other big cats are solitary except for the first year or two of their lives while learning from their mother. After they reach adulthood they’re all kicked out of mom’s territory. But within that one litter you can definitely have some spotted and some all black!
Do cheetahs not also pack together? Feel like I've seen pictures of them in groups.
AFAIK cheetahs only hang out in groups in the wild when it’s mom and her cubs learning to hunt, or adult males from the same litter may hang out together as adults.
Can a panther be born from two black panthers and not be black?
Based on my rudimentary high-school knowledge of alleles, the answer would be “yes” for some jaguar pairings, with a 25% chance of getting a regular jaguar in those pairings. It wouldn’t be possible for leopards.
I’m not an expert though so if I’m wrong feel free to correct me