Life of Male Lion in Fresno Chaffee Zoo Paper https://www.fresnochaffeezoo.org/species/african-lion/ here’s the link Incase my screen shots are out of orde

Life of Male Lion in Fresno Chaffee Zoo Paper https://www.fresnochaffeezoo.org/species/african-lion/ here’s the link Incase my screen shots are out of order No Service
@ ? 96%
7:51 AM
fresnochaffeezoo.org
Range
• Historical – Northern India, the Middle East
(even Mediterranean area and Africa.
• Current – Sub-Sahara to South Africa, excluding
the Congo rain forest belt. A remnant
population of the Asiatic subspecies is found in
Northwest India, in the Gir Forest National Park
and Wildlife Sanctuary. A re-introduced
population, in another protected park, is not yet
established.
Coloration
Lions are tawny to yellow-cream, often with
individual hairs darker at the tip. The abdomen and
insides of legs are cream to white. The backs of the
ears are dark brown to black, with no white ‘follow-
me’ spots. The male’s mane is tawny to reddish-
brown or black, with variations based on family lines
as well as region. The coat of immature animals has
a pattern of light brown rosettes that fades as they
mature, although vestiges may remain on the lower
abdomen and legs of adults. Lion eyes are a golden
brown.
The tawny coat can tend towards light (nearly white)
or dark, and fully black melanistic lions (as in black
leopards (Panthera pardis) or black jaguars (Panthera
onca)) have been seen. These animals, much like the
white tigers, seldom live long past independence
? 96%
No Service
7:51 AM
fresnochaffeezoo.org
from their mother, if they leave the pride, because
the odd coloration may not be accepted by others,
and it may also make it difficult for them to
camouflage when hunting.
Diet
• Wild – Most Lion prey weighs 110-1100 lbs.
Lions are opportunistic feeders (as are
most predators), and are known to take
rodents, hares, birds, reptiles and large insects,
as well as their usual large antelope or zebra
prey.
• Zoo – Prepared Feline Diet with fasting one day
a week. Knuckle bones on fast days.
Behavior
Hunting may take place day or night. The lion pride is
highly organized and, like most cats, they head-butt
in greeting. The pride consists of 4-12 related adult
females, their offspring and 1-6 adult males. The
pride may break into in groups called
“companionships” within the pride’s home range.
These sub-prides function independently but may
come together for cooperative hunts. Males do hunt,
but their primary duty is to protect the pride and its
territory from interloping rival males. Bigger and
slower adult males seldom join female hunts.
Females and sub-adult cubs do most of the
cooperative hunting. When food is scarce, males eat
first then females then cubs. As many as 3h of non-
No Service
7:51 AM
? 96%
fresnochaffeezoo.org
first, then females then cubs. As many as 3/4 of non-
nursing cubs die of starvation before they reach 2
years of age. Because they hunt cooperatively, lions
kill more healthy prey than other carnivores.
The fact that lions band together is a very unusual
behavior for cats. Although sibling groups of other
cat species will do so, lions are the only cats that
regularly hunt cooperatively. The basic reason
behind such behavior goes to the kind and size of
animals they prey upon. Despite the cat-equipment,
so perfect for dealing with prey half the size of the
predator, prey as big, bigger than, or significantly
bigger than the predator calls for more … more
claws, more teeth, more cats.
Lions often act the scavenger rather than the hunter,
and their favorite source of someone else’s kill is
hyenas. Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta), long
thought to be premier scavengers, have proven to be
very efficient hunters. Hyenas and lions go back and
forth with the you-steal-from-us and the we-steal-
from-you activities. Which group, pride or pack, is
successful at the vanquish-and-steal depends upon
which group is larger at the time. Researchers have
documented on-going rivalries between lions and
hyenas occupying the same territory. Another
favorite target for theft is cheetahs.
Adaptation
No Service
© ? 96%
7:51 AM
fresnochaffeezoo.org
FRESNO CHAFFEE
III
IMMOM
AFRICAN LION
Panthera leo
King of the Jungle
Adult male lions have the well-known mane only in
adulthood, after several years of growth and
strength-gaining. Young second-year males have a
very scraggly appearance. Adult males out-size
females by a small but significant amount. Lions are
extremely powerful cats with enormous forelimbs
that can break a cow’s neck. Their massive build
makes them largest of all cats except for the largest
of the Siberian tigers.
Range
• Historical – Northern India, the Middle East
No Service
@ ? 96%
7:51 AM
fresnochaffeezoo.org
Adaptation
The lion is a typical cat in over-all structural
adaptations. Grappling-hook claws and the ability to
supinate the palm make subduing prey easier. Extra-
heavy bone in the skull and limbs, coupled with team
hunting, allows the taking of extremely large prey.
Lions, for example, can withstand a kick to the head
from a zebra. Lion color blends with the dry grasses
of their habitat. Male manes may deter hunting
success, but, more importantly, they are a deterrent
to injury. Wolf-ruffs serve the same purpose,
shielding the neck of combatant males from the long
canines. Most scuffles are huge amounts of sound
and fury, with little serious injury. Juvenile males
have very scraggly manes that take years to grow to
fullness. Young males cannot afford to advertise
themselves as males until they are large enough and
mature enough to face reigning males in any contest
of strength and endurance.
Breeding & Growth
Female lions can breed several times a year, but a
mother will not produce her next litter until her cubs
are about 2 years old. If her entire litter dies, she will
mate again soon after the death of last cub. When
lactation stops, the next estrous begins. A male that
displaces a “reigning” pride-male will kill the suckling
cubs. They are not his and bringing the female into
estrous ensures that she will bear his offspring. Cubs
are very small at birth – less than 1% of adult weight.

Purchase answer to see full
attachment