The world surprises in its own way. If you consciously look around, you can see the huge biological diversity of living beings that surrounds us every day throughout our lives. Panthers are among the amazing creatures of nature.
Summary
Panther is not a specific animal, but a whole genus of the cat family, which includes such well-known species as the jaguar, tiger, lion and leopard, as well as some already extinct. Sometimes the irbis (snow leopard) is also referred to them, but most often it is distinguished into its own genus.
Origin
According to scientific research, it is believed that the genus Panthera descended from the oldest, already extinct cat species Puma pardoides. After analyzing the excavations, it was concluded that panthers appeared about 2 million years ago in Asia. However, after conducting a DNA study, it turned out that they arose 16 million years ago.
The similarity with large cats in the structure of the snow leopard, found in the course of molecular studies, casts doubt on the opinion of scientists: some of them attribute it to panthers, while others -isolated in a separate genus. There is still no consensus on this matter.
As a result of archaeological excavations, the remains of the European jaguar, which appeared in Italy about 2 million years ago, was discovered, which is considered the ancestor of the modern jaguar.
There is also a separate genus Clouded Leopard, which has only slight similarities with panthers. It consists of only two species: the clouded leopard and the Bornean (Kalimantan) clouded leopard.
Characteristic
Representatives of this genus are large. The largest of them is the Amur tiger, listed in the Red Book. They have an elongated body and a long tail, reaching almost half the length of the body, in lions - with a tassel of fur at the end. Panthers are notable for their small, short ears and eyes with a round pupil. The claws on their paws are large and curved. With their strong teeth, representatives of this genus can easily deal with victims. The anatomical difference between males and females is expressed by the fact that male panthers are usually larger than females. In the case of lions, the male representative has a mane on the front of the torso. If you look at any photo of a male panther, you will notice obvious differences between him and a female.
Due to the special structure of the larynx and sublingual apparatus, panthers can make a characteristic loud sound - a roar.
Lifestyle
Both female and male panthers are dangerous and professionalpredators that prey mainly on ungulate mammals: hyenas, antelopes, even monkeys, despite the fact that they can significantly exceed the size of the representatives of the genus. Goats, sheep, cows and other domestic animals left unattended can also become their victims. Usually predators wait for their victims in ambush, for example, near watering places, and then suddenly and quickly attack. Panthers usually enjoy food lying down, tearing off pieces of food by jerking their heads up. They prefer to hunt at night, but their activity is well expressed in the daytime. Almost all representatives, with the exception of the lion, are solitary animals. Lions usually walk in small family flocks - prides. They live mainly in savannas and semi-deserts, while other species are common in lowland and mountain forests or reed beds. Most large cats are found in Africa, but they can also be seen in Asia and South America.
The average life expectancy of a panther is 10 years, but there are cases of their long existence - up to 20 years.
Feline breeding
By 2-3 years of age, panthers are already sexually mature. The female's pregnancy lasts about 3 months, then 2-3 kittens are born, for which the mother looks for a cozy and safe place. The eyes of the cubs open only after a while. In a cat family, the female takes care of the children, and the male panther gets food by hunting animals. When children reach a certain age, the mother teaches them to move and hunt. The panther becomes an adult animal at the age of 1: itcompletely ready for independent living.
Interestingly, when crossing a black and spotted panther, the cubs are mostly born with a spotted color. This happens because the gene of this color is dominant and suppresses the black gene.
What is the name of the male panther
Few people know that panthers are a genus that includes the various species listed earlier. As a result of this, the question very often arises: what is the name of the male panther? It is not so difficult to answer it. The male panther should be named based on the biological species to which it belongs: a lion is a lioness, a tiger is a tigress. The jaguar and leopard do not have feminine derivatives, therefore, in order to highlight the sex of an individual, they say “female leopard”, “male jaguar”.
Manifestation of melanism in the genus Panthera
The most famous species, often seen in many films or cartoons, is the black panther. In fact, this coloration of an individual is the result of melanism - a phenotype variant that manifests itself as a result of a gene mutation. Black fur is usually found in jaguars or leopards. Most melanistic panthers are common in Malaysia (about 50%). Usually such animals live in dark areas, as they become less visible as a result of poor lighting, which allows them to survive. In general, neither females nor males of the black panther differ from other representatives of this genus.
Leopards have incomplete melanism (abundism) - the skin is not pigmented evenly throughout the body, but in patches. Tothis external change can be caused by various factors, even temperature.
Interesting facts
What else do you need to know about panthers? Here are some interesting facts:
- Sometimes in nature there are hybrids - organisms obtained by crossing genetically different forms. These include, for example, tigon (tigrolion), which is a hybrid of a tiger and a lioness, leopon (a hybrid of a leopard and a lioness) and some others.
- The Black Panther became best known thanks to R. Kipling's popular book "Mowgli", in which the kind Bagheera was the representative of this kind.
- Panthers are present on the coat of arms of the country of Gabon (Africa). Two representatives of the cat family hold a shield. This represents the bravery and bravery of the head of state.
