Panthers live in different regions depending on the type:
- Black Panthers (melanistic leopards or jaguars) are mostly found in tropical forests. Black leopards occur in Africa and Asia, while black jaguars are found in Central and South America
- Florida Panthers , a subspecies of cougar, live primarily in South Florida. Their habitat includes pinelands, tropical hardwood hammocks, mixed freshwater swamp forests, and areas such as Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, and Picayune Strand State Forest. They also inhabit rural counties in southwest Florida including Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties
Florida panthers are the only confirmed cougar population in the Eastern United States and currently occupy about 5% of their historic range. They prefer dense understory vegetation for hunting, resting, and denning their cubs
. In summary:
- Panthers (leopards) live in Africa and Asia, often in tropical forests.
- Black jaguars (black panthers) live in Central and South America.
- Florida panthers live in the wild mainly in South Florida's forests, swamps, and pinelands.
This geographic diversity reflects the different species and subspecies commonly referred to as "panthers."
