Two black panther cubs die in State Zoo

The two cubs which the State Zoo got from its black panther Meena did not survive. The cubs were born to Meena on Saturday night.

The zoo authorities said Meena is a first-time mother and did not know how to take care of her cubs.

Normally, the first 10 days are very crucial for cubs of leopard. "We were praying that nothing should happen during this period, but they could not make it. They died on the 4th and 5th days," said Tejas Mariswamy, the State Zoo DFO.

The father of the cubs was Zoo-raised black panther Mohan, which was rescued 5 years ago. Meena and Mohan were paired up together in April this year.

The Assam Zoo is the only zoo in the country where four black panthers were housed.

Black panther, colloquial term used to refer to large felines classified in the genus Panthera that are characterized by a coat of black fur or large concentrations of black spots set against a dark background. The term black panther is most frequently applied to black-coated leopards (Panthera pardus) of Africa and Asia and jaguars (P. onca) of Central and South America; black-furred variants of these species are also called black leopards and black jaguars, respectively. In addition, the term is sometimes used to describe dark-coloured bobcats, lynx, jaguarundis, tigers, and pumas (cougars), even though reports of black-coloured representatives of some species, such as the puma, have not been confirmed.

Black coat coloration is attributed to the expression of recessive alleles in leopards and dominant alleles in jaguars. In each species, a certain combination of alleles stimulates the production of large amounts of the dark pigment melanin in the animal's fur and skin. Although melanin concentrations often vary between members of the same litter, individuals displaying completely black coats are rare.

The appearance of a black coat may be influenced by other factors, such as the angle of incident light and the animal's life stage. For example, some melanistic leopards and jaguars display totally black coats, because the finer details of their fur may be masked by diffuse light. In full sunlight, however, the faint spotted pattern of the coat may emerge. Also, blackened or near-blackened coats may result from the retention of black spots from the juvenile stage, which may complement other concentrations of dark-coloured fur, into adulthood. In other species, such as lynx, the appearance of black or near-black fur might also be explained by seasonal colour changes.