User:Punetor i Rregullt5/sandbox/African lion

Dispute over the validity of these purported subspecies continued among naturalists and curators of natural history museums until the early 21st century.^{[54][38][23][62][17]}

In the 20th century, some authors supported the view of the Cape lion being a distinct subspecies.^{[59][23][62][63]} In 1939, the American zoologist Allen also recognized F. l. bleyenberghi, F. l. krugeri and F. l. vernayi as valid subspecies in Southern Africa, and F. l. hollisteri, F. l. nyanzae and F. l. massaica as valid subspecies in East Africa.^[23]

• P. l. leo in the northern
  and eastern regions of the species' historical and contemporary distribution
• P. l. melanochaita in Southern and East African range countries.

A phenotypic and DNA analysis was conducted using samples from 15 captive lions in the Addis Ababa Zoo and from six wild lion populations. Results showed that the captive lions were genetically similar to wild lions from Cameroon and Chad, but with little signs of inbreeding.^[21]

Lions samples from Gabon's Batéké Plateau National Park and Odzala-Kokoua National Park in Republic of the Congo were found to be related to the Southern lion clade.^[3]

Northeastern clade

The range of the Northeastern clade outside the admixture zone is confined to Somalia and northern and central Kenya.^[4] Already in the 1980s, the lion population in Somalia had greatly declined due to poaching and was restricted to woodlands in the southern part of the country.^[71] In northern Kenya, lions had been observed near Kavirondo, near Lake Manyara and in the Tanga Region in the late 19th century.^[57] By the 21st century, lion populations in northern Kenya have been fragmented.^[72]

Southern / Eastern clade

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

A tree climbing lioness in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda

This is the clade with the largest remaining populations. The range of this clade extends from southern Kenya, southern Uganda and the Virunga area in the Democratic Republic of the Congo southward to the Cape of Good Hope, excluding only the western parts of Southern Africa.^[4]

The following complexes are considered lion strongholds of the Southern/Eastern clade:^[29]

• Ruaha National Park cum Rungwa Game Reserve
• Serengeti National Park cum Maasai Mara
• Tsavo East National Park, Tsavo West National Park with Mkomazi National Park
• Selous Game Reserve
• North Luangwa National Park and South Luangwa National Park
• Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
• Niassa Reserve
• Zambezi River
  in Zambia and Mozambique

Lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park, which form a contiguous population with lions in Virunga National Park in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,^[29][73][27] do belong to the Southern Eastern clade.^[4] In 2010, the lion population in Uganda was estimated at 408 ± 46 individuals in three protected areas including Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley National Parks. Other protected areas in the country probably host less than 10 lions.^[74] As of 2006, there were an estimated 675 lions in the Tsavo area, out of the 2,000 total in Kenya.^[75] Between 2004 and 2013, lion guardians around Amboseli National Park identified 65 lions in an area of 3,684 km² (1,422 sq mi).^[72]

A small population is present in Rwanda's Akagera National Park, estimated at 35 individuals at most in 2004.^[27]

The population in South Africa's former

The area of the Kruger National Park, which is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, is an admixture zone between the Southern-Eastern and the Southwestern clade. This area is a lion stronghold with about 2,300 lions.^[29]

Southwestern clade

The only stronghold of the Southwestern clade is in the western parts of the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, including Okavango Delta and Hwange National Park^[77][29] Another important reserve for this clade is the Etosha National Park.^[29] Lions are considered regionally extinct in the southwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.^[39][5]

In Gabon, the presence of lions in Batéké Plateau National Park was doubtful in 2010.

In

Young male Nubian lion in New York Zoo, 1903^[83]

Abyssinian lion in New York Zoo, 1914^[84]

In the

Among six samples from captive lions which were of Ethiopian origin, five samples clustered with other East African samples, but one clustered with Sahelian samples.^[43] For a subsequent study, also eight additional samples from wild lions from the Ethiopian Highlands were included in a subsequent analysis. Three of them clustered with the Central African lion clade, and five with other East African samples. The Ethiopian Highlands east and west of the Rift Valley was therefore assumed by scientists to have been a zone of genetic admixture between the two phylogeographic groups.^[4]

Results of a

In 2016, analysis of the genomes of lions showed that there had been a basal split between lions in northern and southern parts of Africa. Lions in northern Central Africa belong to the northern clade, and those in Southeast Africa belonged to the southern clade. Lions samples from Ethiopia were shown to be related to both the South-East African and Central African groups, indicating an overlap between these groups there.^[4]

In 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the

Other parts of Ethiopia, which still have lions fall into the admixture zone. These are Omo and Bale Mountains National Parks, the ara around the Chew Bahir and Turkana lakes, and the Webi Shabeelle area.^[27] In 2009, a small group of less than 23 lions were estimated in Nechisar National Park located in the Great Rift Valley. This small protected area in the Ethiopian Highlands is encroached by local people and their livestock.^[89]

Lions of northern Uganda have not been analysed genetically,^[4] and might belong to the Northern subspecies. In northern Uganda, lions are present in Kidepo Valley and Murchison Falls National Parks.^[27][29]

Central African population

The Serengeti and Maasai Mara National Parks are a lion stronghold in East Africa with a stable lion population^[47]

In Northeast Africa, lions may inhabit a variety of habitats, excepting dense

The southern lion was originally found from Ethiopia and Uganda in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in the south. Supported by genetic research, the border between the Southern and Northern subspecies runs through Ethiopia. Southeastern Ethiopia is considered a genetic admixture zone between the two groups. Within the Southern lion, genetic research identified three clades. These are the Northeastern, East-Southern and Southwestern subclade.^[4]

In East and Southern Africa, the population of lions declined in:

• Somalia since the early 20th century.^[92]
• Uganda to near extinction in the 20th century.^[93]
• Kenya in the 1990s due to poisoning of lions and poaching of lion prey species.^[28]
• Rwanda and Tanzania due to killing of lions during the Rwandan Civil War and ensuing refugee crisis in the 1990s.^[28]
• Malawi and Zambia due to illegal hunting of prey species in protected areas.^[28]
• Botswana due to intensive hunting and conversion of natural habitats for settlements since the early 19th century.^[94]
• Namibia due to massive killing of lions by farmers since at least the 1970s.^[95]
• Natal and Cape Provinces south of the Orange River, where the Cape lion population was eradicated by 1860.^[54] A few decades later, lions in the Highveld north of the Orange River were also eradicated.^[96] In the Transvaal, lions occurred historically in the Highveld as well, but were restricted to eastern Transvaal's Bushveld by the 1970s.^[97]

Contemporary lion distribution and habitat quality in East and Southern Africa was assessed in 2005, and Lion Conservation Units (LCU) mapped.[51] Between 2002 and 2012, educated guesses for size of populations in these LCUs ranged from 33,967 to 32,000 individuals.^[28][29]

The LCUs Ruaha-Rungwa, Serengeti-Mara, Tsavo-Mkomazi and Selous in East Africa, as well as Luangwa, Kgalagadi, Okavango-Hwange, Mid-Zambezi, Niassa and Greater Limpopo in Southern Africa are currently considered as lion strongholds. These LCUs host more than 500 individuals each, and the population trend is stable there.^[29]

Today, the northern subspecies occurs in West and Central Africa.^[2] It is regionally extinct in Gambia, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, the Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Its range has declined to the:^[39]

• West African lion population surviving in a few protected areas of Senegal, Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin and Nigeria.^[30] This population is fragmented and isolated, comprising fewer than 250 mature individuals.^[30] The Central African population is threatened by loss of habitat and prey base and trophy hunting.^[28][49][48]
• Central African lion population surviving in protected areas of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, northern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern parts of Chad and South Sudan and in Ethiopia.[29]^[48][49][47]

Former range

Historically, the northern subspecies' range encompassed North Africa.^[2] In these regions, lion populations occurred in the Sahel, mountain ranges of the Sahara, Barbary Coast, Maghreb,^[28][17][6] and the eastern Mediterranean Basin.^[96][15] North African populations declined since the mid-19th century and were eradicated by the early 1960s.^[101][6]

Characteristics

Adult male lions with long brown manes in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Male with a partially black mane in Narok County, southern Kenya

A mature male lion with an intermediate mane development in Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Young Serengeti male

The lion's fur varies in colour from light buff to dark brown. It has rounded ears and a black tail tuft. Average head-to-body length of male lions is 2.47–2.84 m (8.1–9.3 ft) with a weight of 148.2–190.9 kg (327–421 lb). Females are smaller and less heavy.^[96]

A few lion specimens from West Africa obtained by museums have been described as having shorter manes than lions from other African regions.^[17] In general, the West African lion is similar in general appearance and size as lions in other parts of Africa and Asia.^[18]

Zoological specimens range in colour from light to dark tawny. Male skins have short manes, light manes, dark manes or long manes.^[102] Taxonomists recognised that neither skin nor mane colour and length of lions can be adduced as distinct subspecific characteristics. Then they turned to measuring and comparing lion skulls and found that skull length of Barbary and Indian lion samples does not differ significantly, ranging from 280–311.7 mm (11.02–12.27 in) in females and 338–362 mm (13.3–14.3 in) in males.^[102][17]

A revision of lion skins in the

In 2002, research in Serengeti National Park revealed that mane darkens with age; its colour and size are influenced by environmental factors like temperature and climate, but also by individual testosterone production, sexual maturity and genetic precondition. Mane length apparently signals fighting success in male–male relationships.^[104]

Male lions killed in East Africa were less heavy than lions killed by hunters in Southern Africa.^[105] The captive male lions at Addis Ababa Zoo have darker manes and smaller bodies than those of wild populations.^[21]

A male lion specimen from Somalia had a short mane.[17] Male lions from the Ethiopian highlands had dark and heavy manes with black tips that extended over the whole throat and chest to the forelegs and behind the shoulders.^[58] A few lions observed in the environs of Mount Kilimanjaro had tawny to sandy coloured manes as well.^[24] Two male lions observed in the border region between Kenya and Tanzania had moderate tufts of hair on the knee joint, and their manes appeared brushed backwards. They were less cobby with longer legs and less curved backs than lions from other African range countries.^[57] Mane colour of males in Kenya vary between tawny, isabelline and light reddish yellow.^[107] Tsavo male lions generally do not have a mane, though colouration and thickness vary. There are several hypotheses as to the reasons. One is that mane development is closely tied to climate because its presence significantly reduces heat loss.^[109] An alternative explanation is that manelessness is an adaptation to the thorny vegetation of the Tsavo area in which a mane might hinder hunting. Tsavo males may have heightened levels of testosterone, which could also explain their reputation for aggression.^[110]

The weak or absent mane of Tsavo lions is a feature which was characteristic also for the extinct lions of ancient Egypt and Nubia. Adult lion males in Egyptian art are usually depicted without a mane, but with a ruff around the neck.^[111]

White lion

The white lion is a rare

The lion is a social cat, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a family group is called a 'pride'. The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females and up to four males and their cubs of both sexes. Large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have also been observed. Male lion groups are called a coalition. Membership only changes with the births and deaths of female lions. Male cubs are excluded from their maternal pride when they reach maturity at around 2–3 years of age.[116] The sole known exception of this pattern is the Tsavo lion pride, which always has just one adult male.^[117]

Male lions spend years in a nomadic phase before gaining residence in a

Lions in Botswana's Okavango Delta have learned to swim in the delta's swamps. They hunt large prey like buffalo,[127] and occasionally also African elephants when smaller prey is scarce.^[128]

In Benin's Pendjari National Park, groups of lions range from 1–8 individuals. Outside the national park, groups are smaller and more single male lions occur.^[129]

Even within what was Sudan, the diet of lions varied, depending on availability of prey or geography. In the area of

In what was Somaliland, lions were reported to have jumped over zaribas that were at least 10–12 ft (3.0–3.7 m) high to get even large livestock like camels out of them, or to consume them.^[81]

Lions in Northeast Africa exhibit a variety of characteristics. Sudan lions, with the exception of one black-maned male near the Rahad River, were described as having scanty yellow manes. A desert-dwelling cub from Wadi Milh in West Kordofan was described as being pale, with the tail tuft and ear-backs being grey rather than black, and without clear spots.^[81] A short-maned lion was also described from Somalia.^[17]

Lions from the Ethiopian highlands were described as having manes that were dark and heavy.

• In the 19th century, north of
  Bechuanaland, a lion non-fatally attacked David Livingstone, who was defending a sheep in a village.^[131]
• Two Tsavo males have been known as
  United States of America.^[132][133] The total number of people killed is unclear, but allegedly 135 people fell victim to these lions in less than a year before Colonel John Patterson killed them.^[134]
• The "Njombe lions" were a pride of lions in Njombe, in what was then Tanganyika, which for over three generations are thought to have preyed on 1,500 to 2,000 people. They were eventually dispatched by George Rushby.^[135]
• In February 2018, a suspected poacher was killed and eaten by lions near Kruger National Park.^[136][137]
• Towards the end of the same month, conservationist Kevin Richardson took three lions for a walk at Dinokeng Game Reserve, near Pretoria in South Africa. A lioness then pursued an impala for at least 2 km (1.2 mi), before unexpectedly killing a 22-year-old woman near her car.^[138][139]
• In July 2018, a "loud commotion" coming from lions was heard by an anti-poaching dog in Sibuya Game Reserve near
  wire cutters.^[140][141]

In Africa, lions are threatened by pre-emptive killing or in retaliation for preying on livestock. Prey base depletion, loss and conversion of habitat have led to a number of subpopulations becoming small and isolated. Trophy hunting has contributed to population declines in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia.^[39] Although lions and their prey are officially protected in Tsavo National Parks, they are regularly killed by local people, with over 100 known lion killings between 2001 and 2006.^[75]

Between 2008 and 2013, bones and body parts from at least 2621 individual lions were exported from South Africa to Southeast Asia, and another 3437 lion skeletons between 2014 and 2016. Lion bones are used to replace tiger bones in traditional Asian medicines.^[142] Private game ranches in South Africa also breed lions for the canned hunting industry.^[143]

In 2014, seven lions in Ikona Wildlife Management Area were reportedly poisoned by a herdsman for attacking his cattle.^[144] In February 2018, the carcasses of two male and four female lions were found dead in Ruaha National Park, and were suspected to have died of poisoning.^[145][146]

In 2015 and 2017, two male lions,

In Zambia's Kafue National Park, uncontrolled bushfires and hunting of lions and prey species makes it difficult for the lion population to recover. Cub mortality in particular is high.^[149]

The West African lion is threatened by

In 2006, a Lion Conservation Strategy for West and Central Africa was developed in cooperation between IUCN regional offices and several wildlife conservation organisations. The strategy envisages to maintain sufficient habitat, ensure a sufficient wild prey base, make lion-human coexistence sustainable and reduce factors that lead to further fragmentation of populations.[156]

In captivity

At the beginning of the 21st century, the

• 
  Male in Khartoum Zoo, Sudan, 1936
• 
  Major Barker, Director of Khartoum Zoo, playing with a young lioness in 1936. Note the rosettes.
• 
  Cubs at Addis Abeba Zoo

Cultural significance

Between 1910 and 1932, the Coat of arms of South Africa featured a lion

Coat of arms of Sierra Leone

The title "Lion of Mali" was given to Marijata of the Mali Empire.^[160][161]

The Cameroon national football team is nicknamed "The Indomitable Lions."^[162]

The lion is featured as an animal symbol in East Africa.^[163][160] The name 'Simba' is a Swahili word for the lion, which also means 'aggressive', 'king' and 'strong'.^[115]

The lion was important to the

One of the lions that the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer used as its mascot was Jackie.^[167] It was brought from the Nubian part of Sudan.^[168]

In December 2017, Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir had gifted 4 lion cubs to visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Later housed at the Gaziantep Zoo, the cubs were seen as symbolising strength.^[169]

• 
  Ancient Egyptian ostracon of a lion being hunted with a spear, with the help of a dog, at Thebes
• 
  The Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt
• 
  The lion featured amongst other animals in a picture recovered during Rosselini's expedition to Nubia and Egypt in 1832
• 
  Illustration of a lion being encountered by a group of people on an expedition from Somaliland to Lake Lamu
• 
  Jackie the MGM lion was from Nubia^[168]

Regional names

Lion populations in different parts of Africa were referred to by several regional names, including "Katanga lion", "Transvaal lion", "Kalahari lion",^[24][59][60] "Southeast African lion", and "Southwest African lion",^[90] in Southern Africa, "Masai lion", "Serengeti lion,"^[116] "Tsavo lion"^[110] and "Uganda lion"^[17] in East Africa, and "Cameroon lion"^[15] and "North-east Congo lion"^[3] in Central Africa.

Gallery

• 
  Male at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa
• 
  Lioness at Phinda Private Game Reserve
• 
  Lady Liuwa at Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia
• 
  Cecil at Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe
• 
  Female in

  Eswatini
• 
  Lion pair at Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania
• 
  A couple at Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
• 
  Lioness at Samburu National Reserve, Kenya

See also

References

Further reading

• The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Vol. 14. Charles Knight and Co. 1846-01-09. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
• Charles Knight, ed. (1867). The English Cyclopaedia. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
• Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2009-10-07). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals.
  ISBN 978-0-8018-9533-3
  .
• Funaioli, U; Simonetta, A. M. (1966). "The Mammalian Fauna of the Somȧli Republic: Status Ȧnd Conservȧtion Problems". Monitore Zoologico Italiano. Supplemento. 1 (The Mammalian Fauna of the Somali Republic: Status and Conservation Problems): 285–347.
  doi:10.1080/03749444.1966.10736746
  . Retrieved 19 September 2018.
• Kays, Roland W.; Patterson, Bruce D. (2002). "Mane variation in African lions and its social correlates". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 80 (3): 471–478.
  ISSN 0008-4301
  .
• Schofield, A. (2013). White Lion: Back to the Wild. Pennsauken: BookBaby.
  ISBN 978-0620570053
  .
• ISBN 978-1108031165
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panthera leo.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lions of Southern Africa.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lions of Southeast Africa.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lions of West Africa.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lions of North Africa.

• African lion
• First film ever about newly discovered lions in montane rainforests of Ethiopia
• Black-maned lion at Bale Mountains National Park (YouTube)
• Panthera leo abyssinica (in the Spanish language)
• Hunting lion in
  Nuerland
• "Nubian Lion" by Rembrandt Bugatti
• Ancient Egyptian Bestiary: Lions
• Photos of West African lions at Pendjari National Park at flickr
• Wildlife extra: Lions from west and central Africa have more in common with Asiatic lion
• ROCAL West and Central African lion conservation network
• BBC News: Lions 'facing extinction in West Africa'
• Is this one of Central Africa's last lions? (2015)
• Take two: Gabon's lone lion makes another on-camera appearance (2016)
• The Rare Central African Lion - أسود حديقة الدندر فيديو فبراير 2017 (in Dinder National Park, YouTube)
• Draw between a lion and
  primeval forest, late 19th century
• $0.5m funding to stop the decline in the population of African lions
• What Will It Take to Save the East African Lion from Extinction? Hunting or Herding?
• Lions in East Africa
• East African lion shot by Theodore Roosevelt
• Two marauding lions at Issuna, Tanzania
• Giant Lions Once Prowled East Africa, 200,000-Year-Old Skull Reveals
• Kali the Masai lion
• Notch the Masai lion
• BBC Earth: Lions take down an adult elephant
• The Savuti Lions of the Chobe National Park
• Holding the line for lions in Mozambique (including in Gorongosa National Park)
• A Zambian lion stirs
• Nakawa and Lady Liuwa the Zambian lions
• Recovering population of Zimbabwean African lions show low genetic diversity
• Shamba the South African lion
• Angola lion
• What Happened to Angola’s 1,000 Lions?
• Death of a lion that traveled almost 1,300 km (810 mi) between Angola and Namibia
• Kebbel the Namibian lion at Sesfontein Conservancy
• Lobengula the South African guardian lion
• iNaturalist: Southern Lion (Panthera leo ssp. melanochaita)
• Known for escapes, South African lion becomes a father