For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation).

Lion[1]
Temporal range: Early Pleistocene
to Recent

Male

Female (lioness)
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1 )[]
!cienti"ic classi"ication
Kingdom: #nimalia
Phylum: C$ordata
lass: %ammalia
!rder: Carnivora
Family: &elidae
"u#$amily: Pant$erinae
%enus: Pant$era
"pecies: P. leo
'inomial name
Panthera leo
(Linnaeus , 1()* )[3]

&istri#ution o$ lions in 'ndia: The %ir

Forest, in +u,arat , is the last natural
range o$ a#out ()) *ild #siatic lions .
There are plans to reintroduce some lions
to -uno .ildli"e !anctuar/ in
neigh#ouring %ad$/a Prades$ .
!/non/ms
Felis leo
Linnaeus, +,-.[3]
The lion (Panthera leo) is one o$ the $i/e big cats in the genus
Pant$era and a mem#er o$ the $amily &elidae . 0ith some males e1ceeding
2-) 3g (--) l#) in *eight,[0] it is the second4largest li/ing cat a$ter
the tiger . 0ild lions currently e1ist in sub1!a$aran #"rica and in #sia
(*here an endangered remnant population resides in +ir &orest National Par2
in 'ndia) *hile other types o$ lions ha/e disappeared $rom Nort$ #"rica
and !out$3est #sia in historic times. 5ntil the late Pleistocene , a#out
+),))) years ago, the lion *as the most *idespread large land mammal
a$ter $umans . They *ere $ound in most o$ 6$rica, across Eurasia $rom
*estern Europe to 'ndia, and in the 6mericas $rom the 4u2on to Peru .
[)] The lion is a vulnerable s5ecies , ha/ing seen a ma7or population
decline in its 6$rican range o$ 8)9-): per t*o decades during the
second hal$ o$ the 2)th century.[] Lion populations are untena#le
outside designated reser/es and national par3s. 6lthough the cause o$
the decline is not $ully understood, ha#itat loss and con$licts *ith
humans are currently the greatest causes o$ concern. 0ithin 6$rica, the
.est #"rican lion population is particularly endangered.
Lions li/e $or +)9+( years in the *ild, *hile in capti/ity they can
li/e longer than 2) years. 'n the *ild, males seldom li/e longer than +)
years, as in7uries sustained $rom continual $ighting *ith ri/al males
greatly reduce their longe/ity.[6] They typically inha#it savanna and
grassland , although they may ta3e to bus$ and "orest . Lions are
unusually social compared to other cats. 6 pride o$ lions consists o$
related $emales and o$$spring and a small num#er o$ adult males. %roups
o$ $emale lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large
ungulates . Lions are a5e7 and 2e/stone 5redators , although they are also
e1pert scavengers o#taining o/er -) percent o$ their $ood #y sca/enging
as opportunity allo*s. 0hile lions do not typically hunt humans, some
ha/e #een 3no*n to do so. "leeping mainly during the day, lions are
primarily nocturnal , although #ordering on cre5uscular in nature.[(] [*]
;ighly distincti/e, the male lion is easily recognised #y its mane, and
its $ace is one o$ the most *idely recognised animal sym#ols in human
culture . &epictions ha/e e1isted $rom the U55er Paleolit$ic period, *ith
car/ings and paintings $rom the Lascau7 and C$auvet Caves , through
/irtually all ancient and medie/al cultures *here they once occurred. 't
has #een e1tensi/ely depicted in sculptures, in paintings, on national
$lags, and in contemporary $ilms and literature. Lions ha/e #een 3ept in
menageries since the time o$ the 8oman 9m5ire , and ha/e #een a 3ey
species sought $or e1hi#ition in :oos o/er the *orld since the late
eighteenth century. <oos are cooperating *orld*ide in #reeding programs
$or the endangered #siatic subs5ecies .
ontents
1 9t/molog/
;a7onom/ and evolution
.1 !ubs5ecies
.1.1 8ecent
.1. Pleistocene
.1.3 <ubious
o . =/brids
3 C$aracteristics
o 3.1 %ane
o 3. .$ite lions
0 'e$aviour
o 0.1 +rou5 organi:ation
0. =unting and diet
0..1 Predator com5etition
0.. %an1eating
o 0.3 8e5roduction and li"e c/cle
o 0.0 =ealt$
o 0.) Communication
) <istribution and $abitat
6 Po5ulation and conservation status
o 6.1 In ca5tivit/
o 6. 'aiting and taming
( Cultural de5ictions
* =eraldic de5ictions
> !ee also
1? 8e"erences
o 1?.1 Cited te7ts
11 97ternal lin2s
Etymology
The lion=s name, similar in many 8omance languages , is deri/ed $rom the
Latin leo,[>] and the #ncient +ree2 >?@AB (leon).[1?] The =ebre3 *ord
(la/i) may also #e related.[11] 't *as one o$ the species originally
descri#ed #y Linnaeus , *ho ga/e it the name Felis leo, in his
eighteenth4century *or3, !/stema Naturae .[3]
Ta1onomy and e/olution
The lion=s closest relati/es are the other species o$ the genus Pant$era
: the tiger , the ,aguar , and the leo5ard . P. leo e/ol/ed in #"rica
#et*een + million and .)),))) years ago, #e$ore spreading throughout the
=olarctic region.[1] 't appeared in the $ossil record in Europe $or the
$irst time ,)),))) years ago *ith the su#species Pant$era leo "ossilis at
Isernia in 'taly. From this lion deri/ed the later ca/e lion (Pant$era leo
s5elaea ),[13] *hich appeared a#out 8)),))) years ago. Lions died out in
northern 9urasia at the end o$ the last glaciation , a#out +),))) years
agoC this may ha/e #een secondary to the e7tinction o$ Pleistocene
mega"auna .[10] [1)]
"u#species
Traditionally, +2 recent subs5ecies o$ lion *ere recognised,
distinguished #y mane appearance, siDe, and distri#ution. Eecause these
characteristics are /ery insigni$icant and sho* a high indi/idual
/aria#ility, most o$ these $orms *ere pro#a#ly not true su#species,
especially as they *ere o$ten #ased upon Doo material o$ un3no*n origin
that may ha/e had Fstri3ing, #ut a#normalF morphological
characteristics.[16] Today, only eight su#species are usually accepted,
[1)] [1(] although one o$ these, the Ca5e lion , $ormerly descri#ed as
Panthera leo melanochaita, is pro#a#ly in/alid.[1(] E/en the remaining
se/en su#species might #e too many. 0hile the status o$ the 6siatic lion
(P. l. persica) as a su#species is generally accepted, the systematic
relationships among 6$rican lions are still not completely resol/ed.
%itoc$ondrial /ariation in li/ing 6$rican lions seemed to #e modest
according to some ne*er studies, there$ore all su#4"aharan lions
sometimes ha/e #een considered a single su#species, ho*e/er, a recent
study re/ealed lions $rom *estern and central 6$rica di$$er genetically
$rom lions o$ southern or eastern 6$rica. 6ccording to this study,
.estern #"rican lions are more closely related to 6sian lions than to
"outh or East 6$rican lions. These $indings might #e e1plained #y a late
Pleistocene e1tinction e/ent o$ lions in *estern and central 6$rica and
a su#seGuent recoloniDation o$ these parts $rom 6sia.[1*] Pre/ious
studies, *hich *ere $ocused mainly on lions $rom eastern and southern
parts o$ 6$rica, already sho*ed these can #e possi#ly di/ided in t*o
main clades : one to the *est o$ the +reat 8i"t Valle/ and the other to
the east. Lions $rom ;savo in eastern Kenya are much closer genetically
to lions in ;ransvaal ("outh 6$rica), than to those in the #berdare 8ange
in *estern Kenya.[1>] 6nother study re/ealed there are three ma7or
types o$ lions, one Horth 6$rican96sian, one southern 6$rican and one
middle 6$rican.[?] on/ersely, Per hristiansen $ound that using s3ull
morphology allo*ed him to identi$y the su#species 3rugeri, nu#ica,
persica, and senegalensis, *hile there *as o/erlap #et*een #leyen#erghi
*ith senegalensis and 3rugeri. The 6siatic lion persica *as the most
distincti/e, and the ape lion had characteristics allying it more *ith
P. l. persica than the other su#4"aharan lions. ;e had analysed -. lion
s3ulls in three European museums.[1]
The ma7ority o$ lions 3ept in Doos are hy#rids o$ di$$erent su#species.
6ppro1imately ,,: o$ the capti/e lions registered #y the International
!5ecies In"ormation !/stem are o$ un3no*n origin. Honetheless, they might
carry genes *hich are e1tinct in the *ild, and might #e there$ore
important to maintain o/erall genetic /aria#ility o$ the lion.[1(] 't is
#elie/ed that those lions, imported to Europe #e$ore the middle o$ the
nineteenth century, *ere mainly either Ear#ary lions $rom Horth 6$rica
or lions $rom the ape.[]