Panthera leo

IUCN Red List: VU Vulnerable

History:

• 1996-Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
• 2001-Vulnerable (IUCN 2002)

Threats:

• 1.1.4.1 Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Livestock - Nomadic (ongoing)
• 1.1.4.2 Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Livestock - Small-holder (ongoing)
• 10.3 Human disturbance - War/civil unrest (ongoing)
• 3.5 Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Cultural/scientific/leisure activities (ongoing)
• 5.1 Persecution - Pest control (ongoing)
• 5.2 Persecution - Other (ongoing)
• 8.3 Changes in native species dynamics - Prey/food base (ongoing)

For info on these threat codes, see here.

Justification

A species population reduction of 30--50% is suspected over the past two decades (three lion generations). The causes of this reduction are not well understood, are unlikely to have ceased, and may not be reversible. This suspected reduction is based on direct observation; appropriate indices of abundance; a decline in area of occupation, extent of occupation and habitat quality; and actual and potential levels of exploitation.

The range of the lion in North Africa and South-West Asia formerly stretched across the coastal forests of northern Africa and from northern Greece across south-west Asia to eastern India. Today the only living representatives of the lions once found throughout much of South-West Asia occur in India's Gir Forest (Nowell and Jackson 1996). This population of the Asiatic lion, Panthera leo persica, is classified as Critically Endangered (CR C2a(ii)). The Asiatic lion population currently stands at approximately 250 mature breeding individuals, all occurring within one area. Since the population now extends beyond the boundary of the lion sanctuary, the numbers are expected to suffer a decrease due to increasing conflict with people.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the lion conservation community works in the context of four regions: West, Central, East and Southern. The lion population is classified as Endangered in the region of West Africa (Bauer and Nowell, in submission). It is isolated from lion populations of Central Africa, with little or no exchange of breeding individuals (Chardonnet 2002, Bauer and Van Der Merwe 2004). The number of mature individuals in West Africa is estimated by two separate recent surveys at 850 (Bauer and Van Der Merwe 2004) and 1,163 (Chardonnet 2002). Both estimates are well below the Endangered criterion level of 2,500. Lions in West Africa are grouped into three isolated subpopulations by Chardonnet (2002) and approximately seven by the African Lion Working Group (Bauer and Van Der Merwe 2004). Chardonnet's (2002) three subpopulations consist of 18 different individual populations, between which there may be some interchange of individuals, although this is unknown. There is disagreement over the size of the largest individual population in West Africa: the African Lion Working Group (Bauer and Van Der Merwe 2004) estimates 100 lions in Burkina Faso's Arly-Singou ecosystem, while Chardonnet (2002) estimates 404 for the same area (mean 250).

Taxonomy

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 28-Oct-2003

Physical Description

Images:

Distribution

Range and Population

Africa

Habitat

Rich grasslands of East Africa to sands of Kalahari Desert, South Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest. They avoid dense forests because prey is scarce. Competition for Africa's grasslands by humans has drastically reduced the lions' range.

Diet

Adult females require an average of 11 pounds of meat per day and adult males, 15.4 lbs. The pride provides food to its sick and wounded members but not to the male. The male uses his size to take what he wants of the lioness' kill.

A typical diet will include zebra, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles and impala. Lions are opportunistic and will readily scavenge the kills of cheetahs, leopards, wild dogs and hyenas.

Reproduction

After a gestation period of 100-119 days, the pregnant female leaves the pride and finds a place to deliver. Depending on the physical characteristics of their habitat, lions will hide their newborn cubs in marshes or kopjes.

The number of cubs born depends on the age and dietary condition of the mother. The litter size is 1 to 4 offspring. The pride synchronizes its reproduction so they can rear their cubs together, each suckling the others' cubs as well as their own. For example, if a lioness is away hunting, her cub will be suckled by another lactating female. Cubs are nursed 6-7 months.

Cubs reach sexual maturity at 24 to 28 months in captivity and at 36 to 46 months in the wild. The difference here is one of nutrition. Overall cub mortality rates are high. In the wild as many as 80% die before they are 2 years old. Because the cubs are not able to compete with larger ones during feeding, some of them starve. Even in times of abundance cubs may starve if all the kills are small.

If a pride is taken over by a new male who has defeated the top resident male, he will most likely kill any existing cubs that are under 2 years old. This rapidly brings the females into breeding condition, ensuring that the strongest male gets to breed and continue his genetic line.

The average lifespan of a lion in the wild is up to 16 years. In captivity, they often live 10 years beyond that.

Behavior

Lions are more social than most other cat species which are usually solitary by nature. They live in prides composed of 3 to 30 individuals, related adult females and their young. Each pride has its own social dominant hierarchy in which the weakest male ranks above all females. If a resident males are defeated by new males they will leave the pride and typically will never return.

On the open plains, hunting takes place at night. In areas of high grass or thick foliage, it may occur during the day. Research by Dr. Craig Packer, at the Lion Research Center, on the reintroduction of lions into South African Parks, has found that lions will ambush prey at rivers or water holes. They prefer to hunt near river confluences that funnel prey into a small areas. He has found that highly attractive spots will remain so for generations. In two parks where lions were re-introduced, the released animals explored the entire reserve before selecting a specific area and developing a clearly defined home range.

The male rarely hunts with the pride, perhaps because its mane makes it too obvious. Lionesses hunt instinctively in a cooperative fashion. When hunting in a group they fan out to surround prey and attempt to drive it toward one another. Since lions can only run 36 mph., and some of its prey can run up to 50 mph., cooperation and stealth are vital. The females are expert stalkers and the color of their coat helps camouflage them. If a female is hunting alone, it is imperative that she gets a close as possible to her prey, which often has the ability to run faster than her. If an individual is hunting alone it will only be successful about 17% of the time. If two or more hunt together they will have a success rate of 30%.

The prey is eaten by all members of the pride. As each struggles to eat as much as possible, fights erupt, growling, hissing, and paw swiping. The strongest eats the most. Afterwards they all calm down and greet each other affectionately and the peaceful cooperative life of the pride continues.

Communication: Lions communicate with each other in a wide variety of ways. The most important is through body contact. Passing lions of the same pride greet each other by rubbing their cheeks together. Sometimes this is prolonged into neck and body rubbing as well.

Grooming serves social as well as physical needs of the pride. In grooming, the hard bumpy tongue combs fur clean, cleans off blood after feeding, and removes ticks, fleas and other parasites. Grooming also reinforces social bonds.

Lions are also extremely aware of the subtle changes in posture of each other. Facial expressions are unusually varied from an antagonistic, defensive threat, with snarling or hissing to an aggressive threat with growls.

Song/Voice

Panthera leo
Location of Recording: Honolulu Zoo

Similar Species

Members of the genus Panthera:

There are approximately 85 species and subspecies in this genus: P. atrox · P. crassidens · P. gombaseoegensis · P. gombaszoegensis · P. issiodorensis · P. leo (African Lion) · P. leo atrox (Lion) · P. leo bleyenberghi · P. leo goojratensis · P. leo krugeri · P. leo leo (African Lion) · P. leo massaica · P. leo massaicus · P. leo melanochaita · P. leo nyanzae · P. leo persica (Asiatic Lion) · P. leo senegalensis · P. leo somaliensis · P. leo spelaea · P. onca (Jaguar) · P. onca ariconensis · P. onca arizonensis · P. onca centralis · P. onca goldmani · P. onca hernandesi · P. onca hernandesii · P. onca hernandezii · P. onca onca · P. onca palustris · P. onca paraguensis · P. onca peruviana · P. onca peruvianus · P. onca veracrucensis · P. onca veraecrucis · P. pardus (Leopard) · P. pardus adersi · P. pardus adusta · P. pardus antinorii · P. pardus bedfordi · P. pardus brockmani · P. pardus chui · P. pardus ciscaucasica · P. pardus dathei · P. pardus delacouri (Leopard) · P. pardus fusca · P. pardus ituriensis · P. pardus japonensis (North Chinese Leopard) · P. pardus jarvisi · P. pardus kotiya (Leopard) · P. pardus leopardus (Leopard) · P. pardus melanotica · P. pardus melas (Javan Leopard) · P. pardus millardi · P. pardus nanopardus · P. pardus nimr (South Arabian Leopard) · P. pardus orientalis (Amur Leopard) · P. pardus P. (North African Leopard) · P. pardus pardus · P. pardus pernigra · P. pardus reichenowi · P. pardus ruwenzori · P. pardus saxicolor (Leopard) · P. pardus shortridgei · P. pardus sindica (Leopard) · P. pardus steinbachi · P. pardus suahelica · P. pardus tulliana (Anatolian Leopard) · P. platensis · P. schaubi · P. schreuderi · P. spelaea · P. tigris (Tiger) · P. tigris altaica (Amur Tiger) · P. tigris amoyensis (South China Tiger) · P. tigris balica (Bali Tiger) · P. tigris bengalensis · P. tigris corbetti (Indochinese Tiger) · P. tigris longipilis (Siberian Tiger) · P. tigris sondaica (Javan Tiger) · P. tigris styani · P. tigris sumatrae (Sumatran Tiger) · P. tigris tigris (Bengal Tiger) · P. tigris virgata (Caspian Tiger) · P. toscana · P. uncia

Members of the genus Macholophus:

There are approximately 1 species and subspecies in this genus: M. holsti (Yellow Tit)

Bibliography

• African Mammal Databank. Panthera leo. Institute for Applied Ecology and the European Commission. File download April 2004 http://www.gisbau.uniroma1.it/amd/amd042.html.
• Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
• Bauer, H. and Nowell, K. 2004. West African lion population classified as regionally Endangered. Cat News 41, Autumn 2004.
• Bauer, H. and van der Merwe, S. 2004. Inventory of free-ranging lions P. leo in Africa. Oryx 38(1): 26-31.
• Cat Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website
• Chardonnet, P. 2002. Conservation of the African lion: Contribution to a status survey. International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife, France and Conservation Force, USA.
• East, R. (compiler) 1999. African Antelope Database 1998. IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group.
• Ferreras, P. and Cousins, S.H. 1996. The use of a Delphi technique with GIS for estimating the global abundance of top predators: The lion in Africa. Unpublished report, International EcoTechnology Research Centre, Cranfield University, UK. Available from the Cat Digital Library (project of IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group).
• Frank, L. and Packer, C. 2003. Letter to the editor. New Scientist, October 23.
• IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
• IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 8 October 2002.
• IUCN. 2004. Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. March 2004. Standards and Petitions Subcommittee of the IUCN SSC Red List Programme. Available from IUCN Species Survival Commission.
• Kirby, A. 2003. Africa's 'shocking' lion loss. BBC News online. 7 October 2003.
• Myers, N. 1975. The silent savannahs. International Wildlife 5(5): 5-10.
• Myers, N. 1984. Conservation of Africa's cats: Problems and opportunities. In: S.D. Miller and D.D. Everett (eds). 1986. Cats of the world: Biology, conservation and management. pp: 437-446. National Wildlife Federation, Washington DC.
• Nowell, K. and Jackson, P. (compilers and editors) 1996. Wild Cats. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. (online version)
• Packer, C., Pusey, A.E. and Eberly, L.E. 2001. Egalitarianism in female African lions. Science 293: 690-693.
• Patterson, B.D., Kasiki, S.M., Selempo, E. and Kays, R.W. 2004. Livestock predation by lions (Panthera leo) and other carnivores on ranches neighboring Tsavo National Parks, Kenya. Biological Conservation (in press).
• Peter Grubb: Status: IUCN - Endangered as O. o. porteousi
• Standring, P. 2004. Revenge killings: African farmers massacre lions. National Geographic News, Feb 10.
• W. Christopher Wozencraft: Status: CITES - Appendix I as Panthera leo persica; otherwise Appendix II. U.S. ESA and IUCN - Endangered as Panthera leo persica
• Whitman, K., Starfield, A.M., Quadling, H.S. and Packer, C. 2004. Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions. Nature 428: 175-178. (doi:10.1038/nature02395 - online version)
• Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. 1993. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing. Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, DC, USA. xviii + 1207. ISBN: 1-56098-217-9.

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Notes

Contributors:

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 18, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 32 providers.

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 18, 2007:

• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Field Museum, Mammal specimens
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Vertebrate specimens
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Michigan State University Museum, Vertebrate specimens
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Royal Ontario Museum, Mammal specimens
• University of Helsinki, Department of Applied Biology, Animal observations
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
• University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History, Mammal specimens

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 183803
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13808249
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 179915