The King!

The King of Beasts...the lion!  Most people can identify a male lion with no problem.  


There are eight subspecies of lion, most of which live in Africa. A small number of Asiatic lions live in the Gir Forest in India:

There are also white lions living wild in Tambavati, though many zoos and circuses have them on display. 

White lions are not albino, but leucistic South Africa lions; That means their normal tan coat color is suppressed with the chinchilla gene, but their eyes are gold-brown, not red like a true albino's.


Lions are the only big cats that lives in groups, called prides. The pride can have up to forty members, most of which are females and cubs.

That big lion mane? Lions are the only big cats where it is easy to tell the males from the females.  

And speaking of manes, let's take a look at the different colors their manes can be: 

Amazing variety, isn't there?

 Got something to say about this?  Leave me a comment!

The King!

The King of Beasts...the lion!  Most people can identify a male lion with no problem.  


There are eight subspecies of lion, most of which live in Africa. A small number of Asiatic lions live in the Gir Forest in India:

There are also white lions living wild in Tambavati, though many zoos and circuses have them on display. 

White lions are not albino, but leucistic South Africa lions; That means their normal tan coat color is suppressed with the chinchilla gene, but their eyes are gold-brown, not red like a true albino's.


Lions are the only big cats that lives in groups, called prides. The pride can have up to forty members, most of which are females and cubs.

That big lion mane? Lions are the only big cats where it is easy to tell the males from the females.  

And speaking of manes, let's take a look at the different colors their manes can be: 

Amazing variety, isn't there?

 Got something to say about this?  Leave me a comment!

Black Panther Triplets

Black Panther Triplets

So what is a black panther, anyway?

Black panthers are any member of the big cat family (roaring and non-roaring) that are born with an entirely black or very dark pelt. They are mostly found among leopards and jaguars.

So a black panther isn't a certain species of cat, but a color.

For example, a black panther in South America would be a black jaguar. 

In Africa and India, it would be a black leopard. 

What about black cougars,tigers or cheetahs? Well, there's some evidence of black or melanistic tigers, but almost none on the other two big cats.

Let's look at the most common black panthers: jaguars and leopards, below. Beautiful!

What about black lions?  Here's an informative clip about whether they exist or not:

So what is a black panther, anyway?

Black panthers are any member of the big cat family (roaring and non-roaring) that are born with an entirely black or very dark pelt. They are mostly found among leopards and jaguars.

So a black panther isn't a certain species of cat, but a color.

For example, a black panther in South America would be a black jaguar. 

In Africa and India, it would be a black leopard. 

What about black cougars,tigers or cheetahs? Well, there's some evidence of black or melanistic tigers, but almost none on the other two big cats.

Let's look at the most common black panthers: jaguars and leopards, below. Beautiful!

What about black lions?  Here's an informative clip about whether they exist or not:

The Eastern Cougar is declared extinct