According to Zoology, while the term Panthera describes the whole family of big cats, a panther is the same as a leopard, and basically, a black panther is actually a melanistic big cat. However, Black Panther is a catch-all term that refers to any wildcat with a black coat or a melanistic big cat, although it is most frequently applied to black-coated leopards of Africa and Asia and jaguars of Central and South America.

For practical purposes, it can be said that the Black Panthers are actually leopards or jaguars with black coats. While jaguars live in tropical lowland forests in South America, Mexico, and the southwestern US, leopards live in grasslands, forests, mountains, and deserts in Africa and Asia. However, the black panthers typically prefer denser forests. Both types of big cats are hunters that prey on mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles and live up to 12 years in the wild and at least 20 years in captivity.

In general, the black panthers have small heads with strong jaws, rounded ears, emerald green eyes, and powerful legs. While jaguars with black coats have more squared jaws than those of their leopard counterparts, they are also larger in size. The adult jaguars weigh between 45 to 113 kg (around 100 to 250 pounds), measuring between seven to nine feet from head to tail, while adult leopards typically weigh between 30 to 80 kg (about 66 and 176 pounds) and could be up to ten feet long from head to tail. Being a member of the Big Cat family, the Panthers are not only one of the largest felines in the world, but also have the ability to roar like the lions and tigers, which is something that felines outside of this group are not able to do.

The Panther is an incredibly intelligent and agile animal, very seldom seen in the wild as they are generally very quiet and cautious. Their dark fur helps them to camouflage in the surrounding forest and makes them almost invisible in the darkness of night. It is an incredibly powerful and fearless animal, feared by many as they are very aggressive.

They are solitary animals, lead a nocturnal lifestyle, spending much of the daylight hours resting safely high in the trees. Known as elusive animals and one of the strongest climbers of all felines, the black panthers have adapted well to a variety of habitats around the world. Especially those that are jaguars, are adept swimmers and are also excel at climbing and leaping. However, leopards spend a lot of time in trees, but jaguars tend to stay on the ground. Black panthers only spend time with other jaguars or leopards to mate, usually communicate with others by vocalizing and care their offspring.

Although the breeding of the black panthers occurs more often during wet seasons, they do not have any specific time for mating, and they mate any time during the year. After the gestation period of around 96 days, the female jaguars produce litters of one to four cubs, while female leopards produce litters of two to three cubs. The panther cubs are born blind and do not open their eyes until they are nearly two weeks old. While the jaguar cubs become independent when they are around two years old, the leopard cubs take a lesser time to become independent within 20 months of age.

Whether black or non-black, both the Jaguars and leopards are listed as Near Threatened, and both are protected by national legislation in their geographical range.