Black Panther

The black panther in these photos is really a black leopard. There isn't a species of cat named "black panther" Both the leopard and Jaguar have been called black panther. The leopard being the more common. The leopard is related to Tigers, Lions and Jaguars who make up the group of felines who can roar. A little secret though is that when your watching TV and hear a lion roar, sometimes it's a dubed in bear. The black leopard is an animal that has a melanistic tendency (look it up). This tendency is hereiditary. Although not all animals in a litter may be black. They are often mixed. In any case it is an interesting and beautiful yet somewhat sinister animal. They range from africa to central asia india and china. The leopard often takes his kill up in a tree to protect it from scavengers such as Hyena and Lions. Yes the lion does scavenge the kills of other predators. The leopard while a strong predator in its own right is not a match for a lion or a pack of Hyena. In fact a single Hyena would be a major problem. Thus the meal in a tree concept. A leopard can actually move more then its own weight up into the tree. On trips to africa we have often seen large warthogs up in trees with leopards either on the ground or in the tree, and as pigs can't yet fly! We also once saw a small female leopard jump on the back of large Hyena in order to protect her cubs. The fur ball lasted about 5 to 10 seconds after which the hyena walked away. All of the photos in this galley were taken at Animals of Montana outside of Bozeman. http://www.animalsofmontana.com