[Music] are black panthers really a separate species black panthers are among the most elusive creatures of the animal kingdom because of their stealth as predators they've earned the nickname the ghosts of the forest over the years a handful of persistent wildlife photographers have worked tirelessly to offer us glimpses of these impressive creatures the images they've captured prove that black panthers fall firmly within the realm of reality if you've always assumed black panthers are a distinct species of a predatory cat think again it's time to separate the hype from biology the term black panther doesn't refer to a separate species it describes coat color in africa and asia black panthers are black coated leopards and in north central and south america they're dark-coated jaguars in other words black panther is an umbrella term used to refer to any leopard or jaguar with an unusually dark coat it's worth noting that in many cases they do indeed have spots but you can't see them due to the darkness of the rest of their fur more astounding black coated cats are not limited solely to leopards and jaguars scientists have documented the presence of these highly pigmented coats in 13 species of wild cats including asiatic golden cats what causes black panthers this coloration is the result of a genetic mutation in either the agouti signaling protein asp or the melanchorton 1 mc1 gene both of these genes play a direct role in the distribution of melanin a dark pigment also common to humans melanin is the reason we tan when exposed to the sun in big cats the mutation of the asp or mc1 gene leads to a surplus of melanin and their characteristic pigmentation interestingly the extra spike in melanin is also responsible for their vibrant yellow eyes we call cats who over produce melanin resulting in a dark coat melanistic melonism is the polar opposite of albinism a condition distinguished by a complete absence of melanin that results in an all-white colouring with pink or red eyes to date melanism has never been seen among wild lion or tiger populations though albinism is well documented in both species but while albinism makes life difficult for most animals rendering them a target for other predators melanism may come with significant advantages we do know however that black panthers retain a distinct advantage over their lighter coloured counterparts when it comes to stalking prey at night predominantly nocturnal creatures they rarely appear during the day due to visibility and a difficulty controlling body temperature in the heat because genetic mutations can have an impact on more than appearance scientists are also studying the effects of asp and mc1 variations on other aspects of black panther health and behavior black panthers appear to be more disease resistant that's all for today thank you so much for watching and please don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell button you