Panthers

Panthers are just mis-colored cougars. They are native to Canada, the United States and South America. When people think of panthers, they are usually referring to the black panther, or black jaguar. A well-known species of cougar is the Florida panther which, naturally, calls Florida its home, and can be found in the Everglades, and preserves in Big Cypress, west of Miami.

In supernatural fiction, there is a race of creature known as werepanthers. Werepanthers are a breed of shape-shifter. As Jason Stackhouse from True Blood would describe them: They are kind of like werewolves, except instead of wolves, they are humans who turn into big-ass cats. The Norris family of Hotshot, Louisiana were a clan of werepanthers, whose membership included Calvin Norris, Felton Norris, Crystal Norris, Luther, Timbo, La Donna, and Becky.

Werepanthers in fiction have their origins in Greek mythology, where they were depicted as large multi-colored cats and were associated with the Greek god Dionysus. The 1942 movie Cat People, presented a character named Irena Dubrovna, who was a Serbian fashion designer who turned into a black panther whenever she got horny. She married an American named Oliver "Ollie" Reed, but got her whiskers in a frenzy when Ollie began stepping out with a woman named Alice Moore. Assuming her panther form, Irena terrorized Alice and also murdered a psychiatrist named Doctor Louis Judd.

In the 1982 remake of Cat People, werecats who mate with humans transform into black panthers. The only way they can regain their human form is by killing another human. Paul Gallier and his sister Irena were both werepanthers. While in panther form, Paul was sequestered at a zoo in New Orleans, where he mauled a zoologist named Joe Creigh, ultimately killing him.

Appearances

 * Cat People (1942)
 * Cat People (1982)