Study shows black panther fur colour affects it's communication

New research published on December 18 in the journal PLOS ONE claims that black panthers have trouble communicating owing to a lack of white markings behind their ears. The black cats get their black colour from a gene that causes melanism -- or a surplus of melanin or pigment in the fur which is there in about 14 of the 35-plus species of wildcat.

Though melanism offers some advantages like camouflage or regulating body temperature to the black panthers, ecologist Maurício Graipel of the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and his colleagues who modelled the connection between black coats and communication conclude that the absence of white markings is their Achilles’ heel, culminating in a sort of evolutionary dilemma. 

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Study aims at learning about melanistic cats

It is still unclear how the fur coat colour works. Nicholas Pilfold, a scientist in population sustainability at the San Diego Zoo who contributed to the scientific confirmation of a black leopard in Africa earlier this year told the media that the strength of this study is that it suggests a cost that may influence how melanistic cats behave and under what conditions the trait may persist.

Understanding more about melanistic cats may help protect the animals, many of which are declining due to habitat loss and poaching. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, by now, at least 18 wildcat species are either endangered or vulnerable to extinction.

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Markings behind ears vital in communication

Evidence of both melanistic and non-melanistic animals was captured by Graipel when his team was investigating the activity patterns of the southern tigrina (Leopardus guttulus), a house cat-size feline, in southern Brazil. The data showed that melanistic tigrinas were more active during moonlit nights than the regularly spotted tigrinas. Moreover, the black cats’ more effectively camouflage, which renders them less visible to both predators and prey. Yet there is a major difference.

While non-melanistic tigrinas have white spots behind their ears, their melanistic cousins are missing these bright spots of fur. Graipel wondered about the role of these white marks in visual communication. Ultimately, he factored that white is conspicuous at night, and all cat species are at least partially active in the dark.

Considering that positioning of the ears can signify many things, especially to other individuals of the same species, and that felines are able to see very well even in low light, such white marks can serve as a silent warning signal to those following them at night, Graipel wrote in an email to a media publication. As black cats lack these that might be a limitation, the researchers assert. Yet activity during the day might be better for such cats as in the case of Jaguarundis.

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