Big Black Cats – A Hand-Picked Collection of Gifts, Facts and Rescue Info!

What is more fierce than big black cats? Certainly not your sweet, cuddly black house cat!

Still, you can see echoes of their big cat ancestry when they stalk and strike terror into the hearts of their catnip mice.

But enough of Whiskers and back to the feral ferociousness of black jungle cats. In the spirit of celebrating all black cats, we’ll share a few things with you today:

1. Our Big Black Cats Collection on Zazzle (3 samples here)
2. Big Black Cat Facts – are leopards the same as jaguars? Find out below.
3. A link to our favorite Big Cat Rescue organization, also below.

A hand-picked collection of big black cats!

We’ve seen enough leopards and jaguars to last a lifetime in curating this collection.  Some designs are cool, but some didn’t make the cut. Here are just three samples so make sure to link to our full collection:

Big Black Cats – Seven Surprising Facts

1. First, is a black panther its own species? No, it is simply a dark variation of the same Panther species that includes leopards, jaguars, and cougars. (Although the term is common, don’t confuse it with the Black Panther political party.)
2. Next, are leopards and jaguars the same? No again! They are both panther subspecies located in different parts of the world:
   1. Black leopards (panthera pardus) live in Asia and Africa. (dark coloring is genetically recessive)
   2. Black jaguars (panthera onca) live in the Americas. (dark coloring is genetically dominant)
3. These majestic black cats owe their dark beauty to a condition called melanism — where pigment-carrying cells are dominantly expressed throughout their fur.
4. This same melanism is at play with the common black cat, and recent research associates it with some immune advantages.
5. Big black cats often have their underlying spotted coat pattern visible, just like some striped tabby patterns can be seen in the domestic black housecat.
6. Because of their unique and striking beauty, black leopards and jaguars are often bred specifically to produce black cubs. This can lead to some inbreeding issues. 🙁
7. The black jaguar is sacred to the Mayan people — they call it “Ek Balam.” There is currently a city by this name in the Yucatan and jaguar hieroglyphics are prominently featured in what remains of their preserved texts and carvings.

Big Cat Rescue – Info and Support

This next part makes us a little sad, but because big black cats are so unique they tend to be popular with zoos and illegal trade.  Some people – wait for it – even attempt to keep big cats as pets! This is always a terrible idea because it is so hard to provide the right environment and care for these beautiful creatures.

An organization that is doing fantastic work in this arena is Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL. We get their newsletter and make financial contributions when we can.  We encourage you to take a look at their big black cats facts page and become familiar with their mission. You won’t regret watching their videos on YouTube! Please also consider donating since these big wild cats need all the human support they can get! 🙂

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