Lion - Wikipedia. The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the big cats in the Felidae family and a member of genus. Panthera. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1. African range countries declined by about 4.

You'd have to look far and wide to find a child who doesn't like elephants! An animal so big, so extreme, and which comes with a nose that can do things was destined. Directed by Francis Lawrence. With Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Paul Schneider. Set in the 1930s, a former veterinary student takes a job in. Etymology. The lion's name, similar in many Romance languages, is derived from the Latin leo, and the Ancient Greek λέων (leon). The Hebrew word לָבִיא. Get the latest international news and world events from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and more. See world news photos and videos at ABCNews.com.

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Lion populations are untenable outside designated protected areas. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are the greatest causes of concern.[3] The West African lion population is listed as Critically Endangered since 2.

The only lion population in Asia survives in and around India's Gir Forest National Park and is listed as Endangered since 1. The commonly used term African lion collectively denotes lion populations in Africa. It is the second- largest living cat after the tiger, with some males exceeding 2. In ancient times, the modern lion's range was in most of Africa, including North Africa, and across Eurasia from Greece and southeastern Europe to India. In the late Pleistocene, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans; Panthera leo spelaea lived in northern and western Europe, and Panthera leo atrox in the Americas from the Yukon River to Peru.[1.

In the wilderness, males seldom live longer than 1. In captivity they can live more than 2.

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 are also expert scavengers obtaining over 5. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have. Sleeping mainly during the day, lions are active primarily at night (nocturnal), although sometimes at twilight (crepuscular).[1. Highly distinctive, male lions are easily recognized by their manes, and the male's 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 in France dated to 1. 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 over the world since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic lions. Etymology. The lion's name, similar in many Romance languages, is derived from the Latinleo,[1. Ancient Greekλέων (leon).[1. The Hebrew word לָבִיא (lavi) may also be related.[1.

It was one of the species originally described by Linnaeus, who gave it the name Felis leo, in his eighteenth- century work, Systema Naturae.[4]Taxonomy and evolution. Two cladograms proposed for Panthera. The upper cladogram is based on the 2.

The lion's closest relatives are the other species of the genus Panthera: the tiger, the snow leopard, the jaguar, and the leopard. Studies from 2. 00. P. leo evolved in Africa between 1 million and 8. Holarctic region.[2.

It appeared in the fossil record in Europe for the first time 7. Panthera leo fossilis at Isernia in Italy. From this lion derived the later cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea),[2. Lions died out in northern Eurasia at the end of the last glaciation, about 1. Pleistocene megafauna.[2.

Subspecies. Range map of the commonly accepted subspecies of the lion in the late twentieth century. Between the mid 1. They were distinguished on the basis of appearance, size, and colour of mane. As these characteristics vary highly between individuals, most of these forms were probably not true subspecies, especially as they were often based upon museum material that may have had "striking, but abnormal" morphological characteristics.[2. Until 2. 01. 6, eight subspecies were accepted and considered valid.[2. While the subspecific status of the Asiatic lion (P.

African lions are still not completely resolved. Watch Rising Sun Putlocker# more. Mitochondrial variation in living African lions seemed to be modest according to some newer studies; therefore, all sub- Saharan lions have sometimes been considered a single subspecies. However, a recent study revealed lions from western and central Africa differ genetically from lions of southern or eastern Africa. According to this study, West- Central African lions are more closely related to North African and Asian lions than to Southern or Eastern African lions. These findings might be explained by a late Pleistocene extinction event of lions in western and central Africa, and a subsequent recolonisation of these parts from Asia.[2. Previous studies, which were focused mainly on lions from eastern and southern parts of Africa, already showed these can be possibly divided in two main clades: one to the west of the Great Rift Valley and the other to the east.

Tsavo lions in eastern Kenya are much closer genetically to those in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, than to those in the Aberdare Range in western Kenya, or to the west of it, such as Uganda lions.[2. Another study revealed three major types of lions, one North African–Asian, one southern African and one Central African.[2. Results of a phylogeographic study indicate that southeastern Ethiopia, western Somalia and northern Kenya are genetic admixture regions between P. P. l. melanochaita, and that lions in the northern part of Central Africa are genetically closer to lions in North and West Africa, and those in the southern part closer to lions in Southern Africa.[3.

Based on morphology of 5. European museums, the subspecies krugeri, nubica, persica, and senegalensis were assessed distinct; but bleyenberghi overlapped with senegalensis and krugeri. The Asiatic lion persica was the most distinctive, and the Cape lion had characteristics allying it more with P. Saharan lions.[3. The majority of lions kept in zoos are hybrids of different subspecies. Approximately 7. 7% of the captive lions registered by the International Species Information System are of unknown origin. Nonetheless, they might carry genes that are extinct in the wild, and might be therefore important to maintain overall genetic variability of the lion.[2.

It is thought that those lions, imported to Europe before the middle of the 1. Barbary lions from North Africa or lions from the Cape.[3. Recent. Following Carl Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several lion specimen were described and proposed as subspecies, of which 1. Between 2. 00. 8 and 2. IUCN Red List assessors for lions used only two subspecific names, P. African lion populations and P. Asiatic lion population.[3][5][6] In 2.

Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group assigned the lion populations in Asia and West, Central and North Africa to P. Southern and East Africa to P. The following table is based on the classification of the species Panthera leo provided in Mammal Species of the World. It also reflects the classification used by IUCN Red List assessors and the revision by the Cat Classification Task Force: Subspecies. Description. Image. North African lion (P.

Linnaeus, 1. 75. 8), syn. P. l. nubica (de Blainville, 1. P. l. somaliensis (Noack, 1. This is the nominate lion subspecies. In North Africa, lions are locally extinct in the wild due to excessive hunting; the last known Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1. A few captive lions are likely from North Africa, particularly the 9.

Moroccan Royal collection at Rabat Zoo.[3. It is genetically more closely related to the Asiatic lion than to lions in East and Southern Africa.[2.

This population occurred in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, and Somalia.[3. West African lion (P. P. l. senegalensis) (Meyer, 1.

P. l. kamptzi (Matschie, 1. The type specimen originated in Senegal.[3. This population has been listed as Critically Endangered in 2. Western from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin to Niger and Nigeria.