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Alternate meanings: See Lion (disambiguation)

Lion Template:StatusVulnerable
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Panthera Species: leo
Binomial name
Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae. The male lion, who is easily recognized by his mane, may weigh up to 250 kg. Females are much smaller, weighing up to only 180 kg. Lions are carnivores who live in family groups, called prides, consisting of related females, their cubs of both sexes, and an unrelated male who mates with the adult females. The females do the hunting for the pride while the males are largely occupied with maintaining the borders of their territory. Males are expelled from the pride when they reach maturity.

Despite being popularly known as the "king of the jungle", the lion is an animal of the open plains, and can be found throughout Africa. It is nevertheless a threatened species with significant populations being limited to national parks in Tanzania and South Africa.

The last remnant of the Asiatic lion (subspecies Panthera leo persica), which in historical times ranged from Greece to India through Persia, lives in the Gir Forest of northwestern India. About 300 lions live in a 500-square mile sanctuary in the state of Gujarat.

Lions had become extinct in Greece, their last European outpost, by 100 AD, but they survived in considerable numbers in the Middle East and North Africa until the early 20th century. The lions that used to live in North Africa, called Barbary lions are thought to have been a subspecies of lion, although to date it has not yet been tested enough to confirm this.

Lions are recurring symbols in the coat of arms of royalty and chivalry. Lions show up in the art of China, even though lions have never lived in China. No animal has been given more attention in art and literature. C.A.W. Guggisberg, in his book Simba, says the lion is referred to 130 times in the Bible. The lion can be found in stone age cave paintings.

Although they are not often heard of because they are rare, White Lions do exist. These spectacularly beautiful felines have made Timbavati, South Africa, semi-famous. There is a recessive gene in white lions that gives them their unusual color. This recessive gene is also what causes some tigers to be white; white tigers are not a specific kind of tiger. Many white tigers with this gene are bred for zoos and animal shows. White Lions have a great disadvantage when it comes to hunting. Their white color gives away a hiding place when the lion is trying to catch prey.

Attacks on humans

While any hungry lion will probably attack a human that wanders by, and most might take a swipe at an obviously weakened one, some (usually male) lions actually seem to seek out human prey. Some of the more publicized cases include the Tsavo Man-Eaters and the Mfuwe Man-Eater. (Consequently, both incidents have books written by the hunters who slew the lions.) In folklore, man eating lions are sometimes considered demons.

The Mfuwe and Tsavo incidents did bear some striking similarities to each other. The lions in both the Tsavo and Mfuwe incidents were all larger than normal, and lacked manes and they seemed to suffer from tooth decay. Some have speculated that they might belong to an unclassified species of lion.

External links and references

• http://www.lairweb.org.nz/tiger/conflict.html