Lion:
The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. The commonly used term African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies in Africa. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa and in India (where an endangered remnant population resides in Gir Forest National Park). In ancient historic times, their range was in most of Africa, including North Africa, and across Eurasia from Greece and southeastern Europe to India. In the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans: Panthera leo spelaea lived in northern and western Europe andPanthera leo atrox lived in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru.[5] The lion is classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, having seen a major population decline in its African range of 30–50% per two decades during the second half of the twentieth century.[2] Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes of concern. Within Africa, the West African lion population is particularly endangered.
In the wild, males seldom live longer than 10 to 14 years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity.[6] In captivity they can live more than 20 years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusuallysocial compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they are also expert scavengers obtaining over 50 percent of their food by scavenging as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have. Sleeping mainly during the day, lions are active primarily at night (nocturnal), although sometimes at twilight (crepuscular).
Highly distinctive, the male lion is easily recognised by its mane, and its face is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture.Depictions have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves in France dated to 17,000 years ago, through virtually all ancient and medieval cultures where they once occurred. It has been extensively depicted in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire, and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoos over the world since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangeredAsiatic subspecies.
Recent....
Eight recent (Holocene) subspecies are recognised today:
| Subspecies | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Barbary lion (P. l. leo), also called the Atlas lion orNorth African lion | Formerly found in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, this is the nominate lion subspecies from North Africa. It is extinct in the wild due to excessive hunting; the last wild Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1920.[29][30] This is one of the largest of the lion subspecies,[31] with reported lengths of 3.0–3.3 m (9.8–10.8 ft) and weights of more than 200 kg (440 lb) for males. It appears to be more closely related to the Asiatic rather than sub-Saharan lions. A number of animals in captivity are likely to be Barbary lions,[32] particularly the 90 animals descended from the Moroccan Royal collection at Rabat Zoo.[33] |  |
| Asiatic lion (P. l. persica), also known as Indian lion or Persian lion | Is found in Gir Forest National Park of northwestern India. Once was widespread from Turkey, across Southwest Asia, to India and Pakistan,[34] now 523 exist in and near the Gir Forest of Gujarat.[35] Genetic evidence suggests its ancestors split from the ancestors of sub-Saharan African lions between 203 and 74 thousand years ago.[19]
Southern Europe: (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia)
West Asia: (Armenia, Baluchistan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Oman, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey,United Arab Emirates and Yemen) South Asia: (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan) |  |
| West African lion(P. l. senegalensis), also known asSenegal lion | Found in western Africa, from Senegal to the Central African Republic.[36][37] It is currently listed as critically endangered in 2015. It is among the smallest of the Sub-Saharan African lions.
Western Africa: (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana,[38] Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal)
Central Africa: (Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Niger) |  |
| Masai lion (P. l. nubica), also known as the East African lion | Found in East Africa, from Ethiopia and Kenya to Tanzania and Mozambique;[37] a local population is known as the Tsavo lion. |  |
| Congo lion (P. l. azandica), also known asNortheast Congo lion | Found in the northeastern parts of the Congo.[36] It is currently extinct in Rwanda.
Central Africa: (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda)
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| Southwest African lion (P. l. bleyenberghi), also known asKatanga lion | Found in southwestern Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among the largest subspecies of African lions. |  |
| Transvaal lion (P. l. krugeri), also known asSoutheast African lion | Found in the Transvaal region of southeastern Africa, including Kruger National Park.[37]
Southern Africa: (Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe)
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| Ethiopian lion (P. l. roosevelti), also known as Addis Ababa lion | A newly discerned lion subspecies could exist in captivity in Ethiopia's capital city of Addis Ababa.[39] Researchers compared the microsatellite variations over ten loci of fifteen lions in captivity with those of six different wild lion populations. They determined that these lions are genetically unique and presumably that "their wild source population is similarly unique." These lions—with males that have a distinctly dark and luxuriant mane seem to define a new subspecies perhaps native only to Ethiopia. These lions were part of a collection of the late Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.[40]
Northeastern Africa: (Ethiopia)
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