For centuries, hunting lions has been a way of showing how brave someone was. Amenhotep III, the Egyptian pharaoh who was the ruler in around 1375 B.C used a bow and arrow while riding on his chariot to hunt lions. He killed a hundred and two lions in this way. Lions were also killed using crossbows by Saint Louis and his followers while on horseback. This happened in the time of the Seventh Crusade Until recent times, in East Africa, the Masai tribe’s warriors hunted lions while on foot.

The Asiatic lion has been classified as an endangered species. The few of the Asiatic lions that are left in their natural habitat are living in the sanctary of India’s Gir Forest. But the habitat of the lions has been destroyed by the cutting down of trees by the people in order to provide wood for timber and fuel. Lions have started killing domestic animals, for example cattle, for food. The reason for this is that there is no natural prey or deer for the lions to hunt. But it has still made the farmers in the area hate the lions.

Lions in Africa have a much stronger chance to survive. There are numerous reserves in Africa where it is illegal to shoot a lion. Hunters can still kill lions in certain specified areas, but they can not do so unless they possess a special license. But with increasing awareness of the plight of lions, most people would rather photograph lions than shoot them now.

It is the natural instinct of a lion to stay away from people. There is an extremely low chance that it would attack someone until and unless it has been injured or tormented in some way. A person can be within twelve meters of a lion without any danger of being harmed in any way. But when a lion is aggravated, and especially when it is wounded, the lion can turn into a horrifying enemy.

The life of a lion can either be a life of starvation, or one of feast. There may be no animals to hunt for almost a week. But in normal cases the lion is able to find something to eat within three to four days. Then the lion eats like there is no tomorrow. Male lions can eat thirty five kilograms of meat in a single meal. After the animal is killed, it is dragged by the lion to a shady area. One lion has the strength to haul a two hundred and seventy kilogram zebra, which is no easy feat even if six people try to do so together. The whole pride gathers to eat, and every one wants to get the most of the meat. Therefore there is a lot of snarling and growling.

It is not easy for a lion to catch a large sized animal. The lion has a maximum speed of fifty five kilometers per hour, and most of the animals it prefers to eat can run faster than this. The lion has to surprise its prey by stalking. Moving slowly, its body grazing the ground, the lion creeps closer. When it is fifteen kilometers away, it charges forward, gets hold of the animal’s side, head, or rump and brings it to the ground. When the prey is on the ground the lion generally strangles the prey’s throat using its own mouth.

The normal hunting time for a lion is night time. This is because the dark gives the lion the element of surprise. To carry out this task, it has certain equipment granted to it by nature. Its gold colored eyes have the ability to see clearly in the dark, and along with that the lion has a keen sense of smell and hearing. From time to time a number of lions hunt together. While a few of them hide, the rest encircle the prey and herd it to where the lions are waiting, squatting in the high length grass. It is normal for the female lions (lionesses) to hunt instead of the male lions. But the males hunt on their own when they discover prey. The cubs in the pride find out how to hunt by observing the adults in action.

The only cats that have manes are male lions. A mane may be of different colors; brown, black, or blond, which darkens as the age of the lion increases. But the usual color is a mixture of the three. The long and thick hair is just like a collar and covers the whole head (except for the face) as well as the neck. It falls down till the shoulders and the chest. The mane has the effect of making the male lion look stronger and bigger than he actually is. Another part which the mane plays is protecting the lion while he is in a fight. When an enemy hits him, the thick and long hair of the mane softens the knock. Hair starts growing around the head of young males when they are around one year old. But the mane becomes fully grown when the beast is around five years old, and not before.

The coat of the lion is perfect when the lion has to hide. The coat is of a color similar to that of dead grass; brownish yellow. The only parts of the lion’s body which are black are the backside of ears and the tuft of hair at the tail’s end. This make the body perfectly camouflaged when the lion has to hunt.

The forelegs of the lion as well as its shoulders are very well built with extremely strong muscles. These muscles allow the lion to grab its prey and bring it down to the ground. The lion has huge paws, and each paw is equipped with claws which are curved in shape. The claws are used to hook the prey and hold it. To keep the paw sharp, nature has provided the lion with a sheath, so that it can withdraw the claw into it when it is not being used.

The lion has a set of thirty teeth which include the following:

• Four canines used to clutch the prey, kill it, and tear its meat
• Carnassials used to cut through the skin and tendons of the prey

The lion does not have any teeth which can be used to chew the food it eats. The lion eats by gulping down the food in large pieces.

In anciet times, lions lived in Europe, the Middle East, India, and much of Africa. But nowadays most of the lions live in national parks and areas called reserves, where the animals are protected from hunter. Hundreds of lions also live in captivity in zoos throughout the world. And trained lions are popular performers in circuses.

For centuries, lions have been caged by people. The lion was the battle mascot of Pharaoh Ramses III and was taken by him into the battlefield. Elagabalus, a Roman, had a chariot that was drawn by lions.

In circuses and menageries, one of the favorite attractions of the people includes lions that have been trained to perform. The reason why lions are such amazing show animals is that they look extremely vicious. The training of a lion to perform starts when it is around two years old. The trainer is safe as long as he is not cruel to the lion, takes great care while training, and keeps in mind that the lion will never be completely under his control. But lions there have still been cases when a lion being trained has attacked or mangled its trainer.

Nowadays a lot of lions are born while they are in captivity to be provided to the circuses and zoos that want them. Lionesses in zoos have at an average three litters annually. They no longer have to be captured in the wild and brought to circuses and zoos. This was done either by stealing cubs from the mothers, or by trapping them in pits burrowed in the ground or in nets.

It is quite easy to tame a lion cub. They make wonderful pets as long as they are small. But when they grow old, they increase in size as well as strength, and there is a possibility that they may be dangerous.

• Adult males numbering four to five
• A few lionesses
• cubs

It is not necessary that all the members of a pride stick together continuously. Lions belonging to the same pride may hunt in different places at the same time. But when they do meet again after a certain period of time, they greet one another by rubbing cheeks.

Life in a pride is usually peaceful. Most of the days time (around twenty hours) is spent either resting or sleeping. The lion cubs are more active and run around chasing each other or wrestling. This is the way they practice for the skills they are sure to need when they grow up. When cubs are hungry they can feed on the milk of any lioness. It is not necessary that it feeds on its own mother.

The distance that a lion normally walks in a day is around eight kilometers. A lion can rest for twenty four hours if it has eaten a large meal. But it is not unusual for a lion to travel even more than twenty four kilometers if it is searching for food.

Each pride marks its own territory and tends to stay within it. The territory selected and its extent depends on the amount of food and water which is available for the lions. If the food is sufficient, the territory may extend to forty kilometers. In areas where there is not enough food, it may extend to two hundred and sixty kilometers.

Lions are very protective of their territory and do not permit any animals which are strange to them to hunt in their territory. They mark their area by spraying a mixture of urine and scent on bushes in the area or by roaring. This is how the strangers are warned to stay away and informed that the territory already belongs to someone. If in case they do ignore the warning, there is a probability that the strangers are killed.

Known to scientists and researchers Leontopithecus chrysomelas and Leontopithecus chrysopygus these are splendid specie belonging to the lion family. The subspecies of the golden Tamarins had a golden head and a golden rump respectively. Antonio Pigafetta, who was the documenter of Magellan’s voyage referred to the golden Tamarins as “beautiful, simian-like cats”.

DESCRIPTION

Tamarins are famous for the golden mane of long hairs crowning their head and extending down to the throat.

COLOUR: they are from golden to brown with black or orange hue on the toe or paws.

WEIGHT: the average weight of the animal is 1.1 pounds with a length of 10 inches excluding the tail.

NATURE OF FEEDING: they are omnivores like humans and can eat from fruits to small vertebrates.

HABITAT: preferably residents of tropical forests that are at least a 1000 meters away from the sea. The lions are diurnal in habitat and are found at small raised platforms away from the grounds of the jungle.

SLEEPING STATE: the lions sleep within shrubs or within nests and should be looked for in these areas at night.

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR: these animals live in small herds and are capable of reproduction, hunting and defense. The adults reproduce and nurture the off springs till they come of age. The average life span of the beast is about 28 years. Most work is done by the adult male as he is considered the leader of the pack. The breeding season is between September and March.

DISTRIBUTION: as the habitat is very well defined these animal occur in countries that have lowland tropical forests and were discovered in the 19th century in the Brazilian forest of Espirito Santo and Rio de Janeiro.

Greater than 90% of the coastal forests in Atlantic have lost this beautiful specie and the current forest percentage where Tamarins can be found is 2%. Continued deforestation has hurt this like many other animals and continues to be a perpetual threat.

Amongst all other animals lions have been symbolized for courage and ferociousness and respected by man. They are on many souvenirs and awards regarded as being of higher intellect and stature.

They are known for bravery, grandeur, nobility, loyalty and battle skills.

They symbolize a combination of beauty and power.

THE SPECIE IN AFRICA:
Scientifically classified as Panthera leo.
All lions residing in Africa are the same specie as denoted from their DNA testing and are different from those in Asia.

STATUS ON EARTH:

The lion was long ago present from Africa to southwest Asia. 2000 years ago the specie abandoned Europe and in India is now found in the GIR forest only

Today most of lions in Africa are in the eastern and southern parts of it. Most are protected by state as there number roughly is only about a 100,000 in wild.
HABITAT:

They live in packs and are usually residing in open plains but can be found in other places.

They are cat specie and can climb trees when required. They are found near water holes in the daytime usually resting.
DESCRIPTION :

Males are around 250 cm in length with average weight of 160 kg and females up to 192 cm with maximum weight being 68 kg. the length excludes the tail. The tail alone can be from 60 to 100 cm.

They are large animals with short neck, round ears and a broad pace. The male lions have manes colored from grey to red. They have sharp claws for hunting and are carnivores.

DIET:

Lions can eat from small to large animals and can hunt in packs. Females hunt most unless the prey is larger.

REPRODUCTIVE CAPACITY:

There cubs are born blind and require nurturing till male lions can reproduce after 30 months and females have the ability to reproduce at 24 months.
CONSERVATION OF THE SPECIE:

They are a threat to other animals
LIFE SPAN:

The average life span is about 30 years.

Unlike popular belief they are not just confined to African terrains. It is however true that not many of this beautiful majestic species dwell in the world today. Like all other animals they have been long endangered by the barbaric human hunters and are one the wild life list of animals nearing extinction.

Had we mapped the species 10,000 years ago the results would have been quite different. Large numbers were then inhabitants of different parts of the world.

Today they are found in a measly amount in some parts of the world but their confinement only to Africa is a false notion.

In asia the lions are found only in GIR wildlife Sanctuary in the province of Gujarat, India. The sanctuary is located at a distance of 42 kilometers from Junagadh.

This place is open for tourists but hunting is a crime well punished for.
GIR SANCTUARY- The Last of the dwellings of Asiatic Lions
GIR Wildlife Sanctuary emerged as the last resort for Asiatic lions in India; however not more than 300 lions have sought refuge in this place.

The sanctuary is spread over 1450 sq kms.

Of the many places harboring lions in India including Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh only Gujarat could retain its population.

The lions go back in the heritage and history of Indian civilizations from KING ASHOK to INDIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY EMBLEMS today.

Lions depicted grandeur and bravery second to none.

The lions found in India today are shrunken from their initial stone carvings or as compared to the African specie with shorter manes.

Mountain lions have several names such as Cougars and panthers. They are abundant in North America and are the biggest cat that dwells there.

These had reached extinction but are not back and have been sighted in the Easter parts of United States.

Several factors are responsible for the decline in number of lions including the rapid urbanization and excessive hunting before laws for their protection were passed.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

Adult male is 2.4 m in length weighing up to 72 kilograms and the adult female weighs up to 48kg. An adult can weigh up to 200 pounds. Cubs have a typical appearance with spots and a ringed long tail. They can be mistaken for bob cats but the differentiating feature is the tail. Lion tracks made by cougars do not show claw imprints they have for toes each on the front and hind foot. The tracks can be 4 inches long.

HABITAT:

These animals prefer living aloe and avoid humans at all costs. They are carnivores and can feed on meat from many sources be it birds, foxes, mice, deer or porcupine they can travel up to 25 miles at night for a hunt.

A single adult male requires up to 175 square miles of area as his home and they prefer dwelling in wild areas. Consumption of one deer every fortnight is normal by a single adult. They cover the remains of their prey and hunt for more. Animal remains signify that the lion is still around.

REPRODUCTION :

The prime breeding season starts late winter to early summers. The cubs are looked after for 2 years by the mother, and during that time they stay with their mother.

Although many human lives have been lost to these beasts they still hold a heroic position among us and are a symbol of nobility.

Famously called the king of the jungle or the most magnificent of all beast the human affinity for the animal is definite and it appears in significant number of books as well as architectural remains.

From the Greeks to the Hindus all have praised and idolized lions. Ivory carving from Vogel herd cave in the Swabian Alb located in the South West region of Germany have lion heads as a part of them also the depictions are prominent amongst the findings from the Chamber Of Felines , Chauvet caves and Lascaux caves. Some of them can be dated back to as early as 32000 years and are historic.

The lion is also sacred and is the emblem of “Tribe of Judah” and “Kingdom of Judah” Ancient Egypt respected the lioness and they are part of many Egyptian structures that were constructed in hose times. The Egyptian pantheons are Menhit, Bast, Pakhet, Mafdet, and Sphinx.

The Lion Gate of Mycenae is two lionesses that represent a Goddess. Originally designed in 1300 BC it was restored by the recent Governments

Thus lionesses were equally praised if not more and are part of the heritage of many cultures. They were admired for not only the beauty but also the wit and hunting ability. The human counterparts that inculcated the traits were also called upon by the names of lionesses as a token of appreciation.

The zodiac sign of Leo is constellational significance awarded to the animal and thus speaks of its place in not only cultures but also astronomy and mythology.