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| UNIQUELY LION |
| The Lion is the only cat
with black tufted tails (both sexes) and manes (males).
The tufts hide a strange hard "spur" which is
separated from the last vertebra of the tail, and is unique
only to lions (although not found in all lions!). It is said
to contain nerves and blood vessels, and has thought to be
some sort of tactile organ. It was once believed to have
been a remnant of a claw that was found in ancient lions but
disappeared as they evolved. When the lion attacked its prey,
the tail's claw locked in for extra gripping support.
Lions
are the only sexually dimorphic members of the cat family.
This means, they are the only cats that you can look at and
distinguish gender. This is due to the fact that only males
have manes
their natal pride most of the time, although some will
disperse and form new prides. While male lions are physically
capable of reproducing at 30 months and females at 24 months,
they do not generally successfully reproduce until pride
membership has been firmly established.
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PRINCIPAL THREATS
Lions are generally considered problem
animals whose existence is at odds with human settlements and cattle
culture. Their scavenging behavior makes them highly susceptible to
poisoned carcasses put out to eliminate predators. Where the wild
prey is migratory, lions will predate on captive stock during the
lean season, thus making the nuisance animals and easy targets for
humans to eliminate. Sadly, they are still hunted as one of
the most prized trophies in a hunter's collections
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SUB-SPECIES
Of the known sub-species of lion there seems to be an agreement
on 2 as far as genetics go – Panthera leo leo – the African
lion, and Panthera leo persica – the Asian lion. Regardless of the
area of Africa a lion is found in today, their DNA analysis has
shown them to be the same, whereas there is a difference between
African and Asian. As of the time of this writing, the Barbary lion
has never been tested and compared to these results, and may in fact
be a third and distinct lion sub-species.
As far as common scientific nomenclature is concerned - there are
7 accepted sub-species of lions recognized, and they are:
| 1 |
Angola Lion |
P.l. bleyenberghi |
Zimbabwe, Angola and Zaire |
| 2 |
Masai Lion |
P.l. massaicus |
eastern Africa (i.e. Kenya and
Tanzania) |
| 3 |
Senegalese Lion |
P.l. senegalensis |
western Africa |
| 4 |
Transvaal or South African Lion |
P.l. krugeri |
Transvaal and Kalahari (South
Africa) |
| 5 |
Asiatic Lion |
P.l. persica |
the Gir Forest of NW India |
| 6 |
Cape Lion |
P.l. melanochaitus |
the Cape Province to Natal (South
Africa). *EXTINCT by 1860 |
| 7 |
Barbary Lion |
P.l. leo |
Northern Africa *EXTINCT in the
wild by 1920 |
Previously recognized
subspecific classifications included:
| 1 |
Leo leo somaliensis |
Somali |
| 2 |
Leo leo kamptzi |
the Cameroons |
| 3 |
Leo leo hollisteri |
the eastern shore of Lake
Victoria |
| 4 |
Leo leo azandicus |
the region of the Uelle River |
| 5 |
Leo leo vernayi |
the Kalahari |
| 6 |
Leo leo goojratensis |
India (today P.l. persica) |
| 7 |
Leo leo persicus |
Persia |
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| DISTRIBUTION
- PAST & PRESENT |
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he lion was once found from northern Africa through
southwest Asia (extinct in most countries within past 150
years), west into Europe (extinct 2000 years ago) and east
into India (relict population in Gir Forest only). Today, the
majority of Africa’s lions can be found in east and southern
Africa, with a small number in west Africa. Most of the lions
today exist inside protected areas. No accurate number of how
many lions exist in the wild has been reported, but
guesstimates are between 30,000-100,000.
HUNTING AND DIET
Lions are very
opportunistic eaters, and will take almost any prey ranging
from small rodents to young rhinos, hippos and elephants. The
majority of its prey, however, is medium to large ungulates,
most notably zebra, wildebeest, im pala, warthog, hartebeest
and waterbuck. They will stay away from adult rhinos, hippos,
elephants and even giraffes. The females do most of the
hunting, and the male will come and join the females after the
kill is made. The females will make way for the males and
allow him to eat his fill first. Males will participate on a
hunt when it is a particularly large prey item – like a
water buffalo – where his size and strength is required to
bring down such a large animal (although enough females can do
it successfully on their own). Males must also hunt during
their bachelor stages, when there are no females to take care
of them.
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