Why is the black jaguar endangered?

The jaguar was first deemed endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1994. The United States was the last of the Americas to make this determination. The situation was reassessed in 2006 and remains the same. read more

Black panthers are not endangered because the term "black panther" is used for any black cat from a big cat species that is normally spotted. Black panthers are not a species on their own. Most black panthers are jaguars or leopards that have a condition called melanism.Melanism occurs when an animal carries a variant on a coloration gene that makes the animal produce an abundance of black pigment. read more

Additionally, despite international bans on hunting, importing and selling jaguar fur, their pelts are still in demand. Since the 1960s, considerable conservation efforts have been made to save the jaguar. In 1973, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species sharply reduced the sale of pelts. read more