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black maned lion
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: krishnagopal Kodoth (dugulk)
![Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 12 W: 5 N: 42]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/s-n-s.gif) (276) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2006-01-12 |
| Categories: Mammals |
| Camera: Canon Powershot A620 |
| Exposure: f/3.5 |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2006-01-28 1:42 |
| Viewed: 1566 |
| Points: 2 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
During our first early morning safari we got honoured with his highness presence...he walked straight towards us sat down majestically as if possing for a photo shoot then majestically got up and walked right near our van and gave this big yawn which i captured...hope you all enjoyed it.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. leo
Binomial name: Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758)
Found in all parts of Africa south of the Sahara and in the Gir Forest of India. Black mane lions are very large cats with a well-proportioned and balanced body. Its coat varies from tawny to brownish-yellow with a black-tipped tail and black patches on its ears. Male lions have a heavy body-color, brown or black mane.
Although Charles Darwin believed that the male lion's mane existed to blunt the attacks of other lions, its actual purpose long remained a mystery. However, 30 years of lion observations and some elegant new experiments have now created a comprehensive picture of its function. As explained by Peyton West, whose research in East Africa finally solved the puzzle of the mane's significance, lion manes are sexually selected traits that proclaim a male's fighting ability and nutritional status. Both opponents and mates take advantage of this information to assess a lion's overall fitness, but the long, black mane that females desire and males respect has a serious drawback in the form of heat stress. This consequence is severe enough that lions in the hottest climates have little or no mane at all, raising the possibility that increased global temperatures may cause lions with dark, luxurious manes to be things of the past. |
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wow i have never seen an actual photograph of a black maned lion! i just thought it was a creation of disney!
thanks for sharing
Taylor
