Black cats

July 29, 2021

Tigers are on the razor’s edge of extinction in Malaysia, but Panthera’s multifaceted project in Taman Negara National Park is bringing back hope for these big cats. By exploring and integrating the many different elements of conservation, we are proving that protecting a catscape like this can have a wide range of benefits for wildlife and the communities they live alongside.

The Marvel blockbuster Black Panther has prompted a lot of fascinating questions from big cat advocates about “black panthers” in the wild, a term referring to melanistic leopards and jaguars. Our Facebook follower Minna Vasarhelyi asked:

With Black Panther coming out this weekend, we wanted to clear up some confusion about T'Challa's superhero identity in the original Marvel comic book story. It's no surprise that a big cat — with its strength, grace, and top rank in the food chain — would become the namesake of a powerful character. But what are wild "black panthers," anyway? We spoke with Panthera's Chief Scientist Dr. Alan Rabinowitz to bust some myths.

Where does the word “panther” come from?

"Everybody knew Bagheera, and nobody dared to cross his path; for he was as cunning as [the golden jackal] Tabaqui, as bold as the wild buffalo, and as reckless as the wounded elephant. But he had a voice as soft as wild honey dripping from a tree, and a skin softer than dawn." —Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book

Bagheera is a black panther who serves as friend, protector and mentor to Mowgli, the feral child protagonist of The Jungle Book. Does this black cat of dark rainforests exist outside Kipling’s tale?