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.
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).
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.
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.
For more details on this topic, see Lions in
popular culture.
Lions appear as a theme in
cultures across Europe, Asia and Africa.