Lion

The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat in the genus Panthera. Today it lives only in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a strong, broad body, a short, rounded head, round ears, and a dark, hairy tuft at the end of its tail. Male and female lions look different. Adult males are bigger and have a large mane that covers their head, shoulders, and chest.

Lions live in grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands. They are an apex and keystone predator, and they mostly hunt medium-sized and large hooved mammals. Lions are usually more active during the day than other wild cats. When they are hunted or chased, they may become active at night and at twilight. Lions are a social species and live in groups called prides. A pride has related females and their cubs, along with one or a few adult males that are not related to the females. Female lions usually hunt together. Adult males often compete to keep or gain their place in the pride.

During the Neolithic period, lions lived across Africa and Eurasia, from southeastern Europe to India. Today, lion groups are spread apart. They are found in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and in one group in western India. Since 1996, the lion has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. This means lion numbers have dropped a lot in African countries since the early 1990s. Lions cannot survive well outside protected areas. The exact cause of the decline is not fully known, but habitat loss and conflicts with people are the biggest concerns.

Lions have appeared in many sculptures and paintings, on national flags, and in books and films. They are one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire. Since the late 18th century, they have been a key animal for display in zoological gardens around the world. Cultural depictions of lions appear all over the world. They are often a symbol of power and royalty, and they play a major role as symbols and gods in ancient religions.

For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). The lion is also not to be confused with Mountain lion, Lyon, or Loin.

Etymology

The scientific name Panthera comes from the classical Latin word 'panthēra' and the ancient Greek word πάνθηρ, which means 'panther'.

The English word lion comes from the Anglo-Norman word liun. That word came from Latin leōnem, and the Latin word was borrowed from ancient Greek λέων léōn. The Hebrew word לָבִיא lavi may also be related.

Taxonomy

The lion was first given the scientific name Felis leo by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, in his work Systema Naturae. The genus name Panthera was given by Lorenz Oken in 1816. Between the 1700s and 1900s, scientists described 26 lion types and suggested they were subspecies. In 2005, 11 of these were accepted as valid. Scientists mostly told them apart by the size and colour of their manes and skins. Between 2008 and 2016, IUCN Red List assessors used only two subspecies names. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group updated lion taxonomy. This was based on several phylogeographic studies of lion evolution. Today, two subspecies are recognised. The first is P. l. leo, the nominate lion subspecies. It includes the Asiatic lion, the Barbary lion, which is regionally extinct, and lions in West and northern Central Africa. The second is P. l. melanochaita. It includes the Cape lion, which is now extinct, and lions in East and Southern Africa.

Other lion relatives lived in prehistoric times. P. fossilis was larger than the modern lion. P. spelaea, the cave lion, lived in Eurasia and Beringia. P. atrox, the American lion, lived in the Americas. The earliest lion-like fossils were found at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. Lions first spread from Africa into Eurasia about 1 million years ago. Some lions in zoos have been bred with tigers to make hybrids. The liger is bigger than a lion or a tiger. The leopon is a mix of a lion and a leopard.

Further information: Panthera hybrid

Description

Further information: White lion

The lion is a strong, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a short neck, and round ears. Males have broader heads. Its fur ranges from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red, and dark brown. Newborn lions have dark spots that fade as they grow up, though faint spots may still be seen on the legs and underparts. Every lion's tail ends in a dark, hairy tuft. Among cats of the cat family, the lion is second only to the tiger in size. Adult size varies across its range and habitats. Male skulls are larger than female skulls. The skull's zygomatic width and postorbital region differ from the tiger's. The lower jaw is usually the easiest way to tell the two apart. A lion's muscles make up a large part of its body weight, more than in any other mammal. Many fast twitch muscle fibres give it quick bursts of speed, but it cannot keep running for long.

The male's mane is the most recognisable feature of the species. It grows down and back over the head, neck, shoulders, and chest. It is usually brownish with yellow, rust, and black hairs. Changes in the genes microphthalmia-associated transcription factor and tyrosinase may be responsible for its colour. The mane begins to grow in adolescence, when testosterone levels rise, and reaches full size at about four years old. It likely evolved to show a male's fitness to females, and darker manes seem linked to greater success in having young. Some males in Pendjari National Park have no mane or very short ones. Maneless lions have also been reported in Senegal, Sudan's Dinder National Park, and Tsavo East National Park in Kenya. Castrated lions often have little mane because removing the gonads lowers testosterone. The white lion is a rare morph with leucism. It is caused by a double recessive allele, and it is not albino. White lions have sometimes been seen around Kruger National Park and the Timbavati Private Game Reserve in South Africa. They were removed from the wild in the 1970s, which reduced the gene pool. Even so, white lion cubs were recorded in several prides between 2007 and 2015. White lions are bred in captivity in South Africa, where they have reportedly been used as trophies in canned hunts.

Distribution and habitat

African lions live in small, scattered groups across sub-Saharan Africa. They like grassy plains and savannahs, bushy areas along rivers, and open woodlands. They rarely go into thick forests. On Mount Elgon, lions have been seen as high as 3,600 m (11,800 ft), and they have been found close to the snow line on Mount Kenya. Most of the lion's home in Africa is savannah with a fair amount of rain each year. Small groups also live in wet tropical forests in West Africa and montane forests in East Africa. The Asiatic lion now survives only in and around Gir National Park in Gujarat, western India. There, it lives in a mix of dry forest and dry, leaf-losing scrub forest.

See also: History of lions in Europe

In Africa, lions once lived across most of the continent. They were not found in the central African rainforest zone or the Sahara desert. By the 1960s, they had disappeared from North Africa, except in the southern part of Sudan. During the mid-Holocene, about 8,000 to 6,000 years ago, lions spread into Southeastern and Eastern Europe. They took over some of the land once home to the cave lion, which is now extinct. In Hungary, lions lived from about 4,500 to 3,200 years Before Present. In Ukraine, they lived from about 6,400 to 2,000 years Before Present. In Greece, lions were common enough that Herodotus wrote about them in 480 BC. They became rare by 300 BC and were gone by AD 100. In Asia, lions once lived in places with plenty of animals to hunt. They were found in the Caucasus until the 10th century and in the Levant until the Middle Ages. They lived in Southwest Asia until the late 1800s. The last known lion in Iran was seen in 1942, about 65 km (40 mi) northwest of Dezful. In 1944, a lioness's body was found on the banks of the Karun river in Khuzestan province. Lions once roamed from Sind and Punjab in Pakistan to Bengal and the Narmada River in central India.

Behaviour and ecology

Lions spend much of their time resting. They can be inactive for about twenty hours a day. They are most active after dusk, and they hunt mostly until dawn. Lions are the most social of all wild cats. They live in groups called prides, which are made up of related lions and their young. Females usually stay in the pride they were born into. Males and some females disperse to find their own territory. Males that are not part of a pride often wander as nomads for years before they join one.

Lions are hypercarnivores, which means they eat mostly meat. Their main prey is large, hoofed animals such as blue wildebeest, plains zebra, and African buffalo. Lions can run fast, but only for short distances. Because of this, they creep close to their prey before they attack. They often share their food with other lions in the pride. Lions also compete for food with other animals, such as spotted hyenas, cheetahs, and African wild dogs. Lions often take food from these animals. Sometimes, these animals take food from lions.

Conservation

The lion is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and the African lion population is on CITES Appendix II. Many large, well-managed protected areas in Africa have lots of lions. When wildlife tourism brings in money, that money helps protect lions. Most lions now live in East and Southern Africa. Their numbers have dropped a lot over the past century. Disease and human activity are the main reasons. In West Africa, lions live in a small, separate group. This group is listed as Critically Endangered. In Asia, the Asiatic lion lives only in the Gir National Park area, in the region of Saurashtra or Kathiawar Peninsula in India. The Indian population is listed on CITES Appendix I. Its numbers have grown from about 180 lions in 1974 to about 650 in 2017.

Some zoos are helping to keep lions alive. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums started a Species Survival Plan for the Asiatic lion in 1982. Scientists found that many lions in North American zoos were a mix of African and Asiatic lions. Because of this, breeding programs now need to record where animals came from. Many captive lions registered in the International Species Information System in 2006 had unknown origins. They may still carry genes that have disappeared in the wild. These genes could help keep lions healthy and varied.

Interactions with humans

Lions have been kept in zoos since the late 1700s. Today, more than 1,000 African lions and 100 Asiatic lions live in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are kept there for tourism, education, and conservation. Lions can live over twenty years in captivity. Three sibling lions at the Honolulu Zoo lived to age 22 in 2007. Lion taming became part of both circuses and solo acts in the early 1800s. Lions have been hunted since ancient times, often as a royal tradition to show the king's power. The Maasai people have traditionally seen killing a lion as a rite of passage. Lions do not often attack people, but some, usually males, seem to seek them out.

Further information: Man-eater lions

Main article: Cultural depictions of lions

The lion is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. It is called the 'King of the Beasts' and stands for power, royalty, and protection. Several leaders have had "lion" in their name, including Sundiata Keita, who was called "Lion of Mali", and Richard the Lionheart of England. In sub-Saharan Africa, the lion is a common character in stories, sayings, and dances. In Ancient Egypt, lions were linked with the sun and the waters of the Nile.

The lion was an important symbol in ancient Mesopotamia, where it was strongly linked with kingship. In India, the Lion Capital of Ashoka shows four lions standing back to back. In ancient Greece, the lion appears in several of Aesop's fables. Lions also appear in modern stories, including the 1994 Disney animated feature film The Lion King.