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.