Where Is the Black Panther in the Food Chain?
Black panthers are considered a dominant predator at the top of the food chain in their environments, and they prey upon deer, tapir and wild boar, but will also eat anything they can dominate when large prey is scarce. Panthers are generally considered an apex predator with no natural predators in the wild.
Black panthers are a variant in the panthera species. Black panthers in the Americas are black jaguars, while black panthers in Africa and Asia are black leopards. Black panthers are carnivorous, meat-eating animals that are at the top of the food chain. As with other apex predators, occasionally black panthers fall prey to other carnivorous dominate predators such as lions, hyenas and humans. Because the black panther is extremely adaptable, it is found in many different habitats. Their diet consists of prey that can be found in deserts, marshlands, forests, mountains and grasslands, which are all habitats of the black panther.
Panthers are nocturnal hunters and can hunt on land or ambush prey from treetops. They prefer large mammals, but will also eat rabbits, birds and smaller animals.
The biggest threat to the black panther is loss of habitat rather than predators. It is considered threatened or even endangered by wildlife experts due to deforestation of the black panthers natural range because of human encroachment and agricultural usage.