Which lions have manes

Answers to these questions are provided by Dr. Craig Packer or his graduate students at the University of Minnesota. Female lions captures most of the mid-sized prey wildebeest, zebra, etc. A male can eat 43 kg in a day; a female may eat over 25 kg. But their average intake is about 8—9 kg per day. We are very careful that none of our work is in any way harmful to the lions. We mostly observe the lions from a distance of 10— meters, but we do occasionally immoblize individuals to remove snares, attach radio collars or collect blood samples.

Lions with radio collars do not suffer any effect on their survival or reproduction, and by radio tracking we are far more efficient in monitoring the population in times of drought or disease outbreaks. Blood samples from these lions have revealed the extent to which they are exposed to infectious diseases such as canine distemper that originated from domestic dogs in the surrounding villages.

These findings have led to improved veterinary services around the Serengeti. Females typically have litters of two or three cubs. Cubs are usually weaned by the age of eight months. Watch videos and learn more about manes. Instead they regularly attacked from the rear, targeting the back and the hindquarters.

Why, propagation of the species, of course. In the sweltering heat of areas where lions gather, a huge ring of long hair around the face and neck does nothing to help cool the body. That bushy fringe is an inviting home to a variety of parasites, and it also makes the lion stand out against the scenery a desirable trait for a fashion model but not so much for an ambush hunter. With all those negatives attached to sporting neck hair, the only positive is that it takes some sturdy genes and a very healthy constitution for a male to live long enough to grow a substantial mane.

However, until now, reports of such maned lionesses have been extremely rare and largely anecdotal. We knew they existed, but little about how they behave. Now, Geoffrey D. Gilfillan started studying these lionesses back in March , and for the next two years he focused on recording the behaviour of one of them, called SaF She had an underdeveloped mane and was larger than most females. A likely explanation is an increased level of testosterone as these lionesses mature, says Luke Hunter , president and chief conservation officer at the global wild cat conservation organisation Panthera.

In lions, testosterone directly affects the development of manes. Castrated males, for example, lose their ability to produce testosterone and promptly lose their mane, too.