Picture of Planet Scott, planetscott.com
The Wild Wild World of
PLANET SCOTT
Travel and nature photos

Lion (Panthera leo)

Lion (Panthera leo)

Lion (Panthera leo)



Lion (Panthera leo) Lions, Tanzania Lioness, Namibia Lion, Namibia Lioness Stalking Prey, Botswana Lioness, Botswana
Lioness, Botswana Lions, Botswana Lioness and Cub, Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

Class: Mammalia
Family: Felidae
Common Name: Lion
Genus: Panthera
Species Name: leo

About The Lion

The lion (Panthera leo) is the second-largest living cat after the tiger - with some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb). Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with an endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru. The lion is vulnerable, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Lions live for ten to fourteen years in the wild, in captivity they may live longer than twenty years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social 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 scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have been known to do so. 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, 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 the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.

Trips Where Observed

Africa: Eastern and Southern
Kenya Solar Eclipse

Member Lifelists

Africa
World

Sites Where Observed

Location
Date
Notes
12/10/2002
There was a pair about 200 meters from our camp, and we were keeping our eyes on each other. The female tried to take down a blue wildebeast, but she failed.

Planetscott.com

Sitemap Hackers Challenge Contact
Website Powered By PlanetScott.com