How do they reproduce?
Males mature at 3 years old and
live alone except during mating season,
which can be any time of the year.
Females are mature when they are 2 years old and can have kittens
any time of the year.
Before they give birth,
the females make a den that can
be up to 6 feet tall
in a saw palmetto or cabbage palm
thicket.
The mother gives birth to 1 - 4
kittens.
When the kittens are born they are
blind for a week and
only weigh a pound.
When the kittens open their eyes,
they are bright blue.
When the mother goes hunting to get her food,
the kittens can fast for up to two
days.
The first 6 months of their lives
are the most dangerous because animals,
like alligators, and birds, like
hawks, can take them away.
If the mother lives in a more fertile
land, she doesn't have to travel as far and
she can stay with her kittens longer,
so
they aren't in as much
danger as they could be. When the
kittens are young they are very playful.
A biologist went into an old panther
den and saw that the kittens had
chewed up all the sticks and branches.
At 3 months, the kittens are the
size of full grown house cats.
At 6 months, the kittens can eat
what the mother kills.
When the mother decides that the
kittens are old enough, she lets them
come and hunt with her.
After a year to a year and a half,
the kittens can finally go on their own.
Then the process starts over again.