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Lion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

Variations

 

White lion male (subspecies Panthera leo krugeri)

White lion male (subspecies Panthera leo krugeri)

A number of natural variations have been observed in the lion populations. Some of these have been encouraged by captive breeding.

White lions

Although rare, white lions are occasionally encountered in Timbavati, South Africa. Their unusual color is due to a recessive gene. A white lion has a disadvantage when it comes to hunting: it can be given away by its color, unlike the regular lion which blends in with its surroundings. White lions are born almost pure white without the normal camouflaging spots seen in lion cubs. Their colour gradually darkens to cream or ivory colour (known as blonde).

Cross-breeding lions with other big cat species

 

A liger is the offspring of a male lion and female tiger.

A liger is the offspring of a male lion and female tiger.

Lions have also been known to breed with tigers (most often Amur and Bengal) to create hybrids called ligers and tigons. They have also been crossed with leopards to produce leopons and jaguars to produce jaglions. The marozi is reputedly a spotted lion or a naturally occurring leopon, while the Congolese spotted lion is a complex lion/jaguar/leopard hybrid called a lijagulep. Such hybrids were once commonly bred in zoos, but this is now discouraged due to the emphasis on conserving species and subspecies. Hybrids are still bred in private menageries and in zoos in China.

The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. Because the lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female lion is absent, ligers grow far larger than either parent. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species (spots and stripes on a sandy background). Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile. Males have about a 50% chance of having a mane, but if they grow one the mane will be modest, around 50% again of a pure lion mane.

The less common tigon is a cross between the lioness and the male tiger. Because the male tiger does not pass on a growth-promoting gene and the lioness passes on a growth inhibiting gene, tigons are often relatively small, only weighing up to 150 kilograms (350 lb), which is about 20% smaller than lions. Like ligers, they have physical and behavioural traits from both parental species and males are sterile.

Attacks on humans

Some information in this article or section has not been verified and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.

While lions usually don´t attack humans, some (usually male) lions seem to seek out human prey. Some of the more publicized cases include the Tsavo maneaters and the Mfuwe man-eater. In both cases the hunters who killed the lions wrote books detailing the lions' "careers" as man-eaters. In folklore, man-eating lions are sometimes considered demons.

The Mfuwe and Tsavo incidents did bear some similarities. The lions in both the incidents were all larger than normal, lacked manes and seemed to suffer from tooth decay. Some have speculated that they might belong to an unclassified species of lion, or that they may have been sick and could not have easily caught prey.

There have also been recorded attacks on humans by lions in captivity; tigers in captivity are statistically much more likely to attack humans. Wild lions are also much less likely to attack humans than wild tigers are.

Other contemporary research shows that lion-human conflict may be on the rise. Gnoske and Peterhans suggests that we should be surprised not that lions attack and kill humans but that such few incidents occur. The stereotype of injury and age being the main causes of man-eating behavior are largely debunked by the two men. (See: The science of ‘Man-eating’* among lions (Panthera leo) with a reconstruction of the natural history of the “Man-eaters of Tsavo” Julian C. Kerbis Peterhans1 and Thomas Patrick Gnoske [3])

Also, Professor Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota and Tanzanian scientist Dennis Ikanda authored an important paper in Nature in 2006 that showed man-eating behavior in rural areas of Tanzania had increased greatly from 1990 through 2005. More than 500 villagers were attacked and many eaten in this time period - a number far exceeding the more famed "Tsavo" incidents of a century and more earlier. The problem occurred near Selous National Park in Rufiji Province and in Lindi Province near the Mozambican border. While some of these problems are no doubt caused by the expansion of villagers into bush country, the authors argue that conservation policy must mitigate the problem because conservation policies contribute directly to human deaths. Cases in Lindi have been documented where lions seize humans from the center of substantial villages.

Author Robert R. Frump also wrote in 2006 that Mozambican refugees crossing Kruger National Park at night in South Africa regularly are attacked and eaten by the lions there. Park officials conceded that man-eating is a problem there. Frump believes thousands may have been killed in the decades after apartheid sealed the park and forced the refugees to cross the park at night. Mozambicans had for nearly a century before the border was sealed regularly walked across the park in daytime with little harm (see www.man-eater.info).

Generally, westerners do not understand the toll that animal-human conflict takes on human lives and crops in Africa. Packer estimates more than 200 Tanzanians are killed each year by lions, crocodiles, elephants, hippos and snakes, and that the numbers could be double that amount. Lions are thought to kill about 70 humans per year at least in Tanzania, Packer and Ikanda note. Packer and Ikanda are among the few conservationists who believe western conservation efforts must take account of these matters not just because of ethical concerns about human life, but also for the long term success of conservation efforts and lion preservation.

A man-eating lion was killed by game scouts in Southern Tanzania in April 2004. It is believe to have killed and eaten at least 35 people in a series of incidents covering several villages in the Rufiji Delta coastal region. Dr Rolf Baldus, the GTZ wildlife programme coordinator, is reported to have commented that it was likely that the lion preyed on humans because it had a large abscess underneath a molar which was cracked in several places. He further commented that "This lion probably experienced a lot of pain, particularly when it was chewing." GTZ is the German development cooperation agency and has been working with the Tanzanian government on wildlife conservation for nearly two decades. Like in other cases this lion was large, lacked a mane, and had a tooth problem. (See these links: [4] and [5] for additional information.)

The "All-Africa" record of man-eating generally is considered to be not Tsavo, but the lesser known incidents in the late 1930s through the late 1940s in what was then Tanganyika (now Tanzania). George Rushby, game warden and professional hunter, eventually dispatched the pride, which over 3 generations, is thought to have killed and eaten 1,500 to 2,000 in what is now Njombe district.

Tsavo and Patterson body counts vary from a pretty firm 28 up to 140. While some authors disparage the actual number, it should be kept in mind that Patterson kept firm records of skilled-labor killed by the lions, not indigenous Africans. The toll could easily have been much higher.

Lions in popular culture

For more details on this topic, see Lions in popular culture.

Lions appear as a theme in cultures across Europe, Asia and Africa.

 

References

  1. ^ Nowell & Bauer (2004). Panthera leo. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is vulnerable
  2. ^ BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Lion. Retrieved on 2006-10-24.
  3. ^ Honolulu Zoo lion information page
  4. ^ BBC Wildfacts – Lion.
  5. ^ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
  6. ^ The Cyber Zoomobile - lion.
  7. ^ West P.M., Packer C. 2002. Sexual selection, temperature, and the lion's mane. Science, 297, 1339–1343.
  8. ^ Barnett, R., N. Yamaguchi, I. Barnes & A. Cooper. 2006. Lost populations and preserving genetic diversity in the lion Panthera leo: Implications for its ex situ conservation. Conservation Genetics. Online full-text pdf
  9. ^ Yamaguchi, N. & Haddane, B. (2002). The North African Barbary lion and the Atlas Lion Project. International Zoo News 49: 465-481.
  10. ^ Lars Werdelin: Plio-Pleistocene Carnivora of eastern Africa: species richness and turnover patterns, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 144, Issue 2, Page 121 - June 2005 online
  11. ^ A. Turner: The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-231-10229-1
  12. ^ Ross Barnett et al.: The origin, current diversity and future conservation of the modern lion (Panthera leo). Proceedings of the Royal Society B, doi: 10.1098/rspb. (2006) Published online (PDF)
  13. ^ Jean Dubach et al.: Molecular genetic variation across the southern and eastern geographic ranges of the African lion, Panthera leo. Conservation Genetics 6: 15–24, 2005. online-PDF.
  14. ^ Barnett, R., N. Yamaguchi, I. Barnes & A. Cooper. 2006. Lost populations and preserving genetic diversity in the lion Panthera leo: Implications for its ex situ conservation. Conservation Genetics. Online pdf
  15. ^ Burger J, Rosendahl W, Loreille O, Hemmer H, Eriksson T, Götherström A, Hiller J, Collins MJ, Wess T, Alt KW. (2004). Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 30, 841–849. Online pdf
  16. ^ Burger J, Rosendahl W, Loreille O, Hemmer H, Eriksson T, Götherström A, Hiller J, Collins MJ, Wess T, Alt KW. (2004). Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 30, 841–849. Online pdf

 

 

 

 

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