Image map of lion
Social cats are the most famous families in nature. Tigers, lions, snow leopards and leopards dominate panthers? Overlord? Although not as well-known as liger, all species of Katiaceae are beasts to be reckoned with in their own living environment. It is no exaggeration to say that cats occupy half of the carnivorous world, and all the animals in cats are carnivores. They prey on various mammals, reptiles and other prey according to their size.
(male) lion
In the whole feline family, the lion is the most special existence, because it is the only social animal in the feline family and the only animal with both sexes. When they were young, they all looked the same and had obvious spots on their bodies. However, with the increase of age, the spots gradually fade until they are invisible to the naked eye, and the male lion gradually becomes larger, and manes will grow on his head, neck and even belly (there will be some differences between different lion subspecies), while the female lion has no such characteristics.
Ancient and modern distribution map of lions
According to modern classification, there are eight subspecies of lions, namely, Asian lions, South African lions, East African lions, West African lions, Congo lions, Angolan lions, Cape of Good Hope lions and Barbary lions, of which the latter two are extinct.
The biggest feature of lions is that they live in groups. Due to the influence of habitat and human beings, there are no super-large lions now. Most lions consist of several females with cubs and two or three males.
Historically, lions were widely distributed in most parts of Africa and Southwest Asia, but today, Asian lions only live in Gil Forest National Park in India, while African lions live in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The composition of the lion group The most important member of the lion group is the lioness. A lion group consists of lioness, cubs and lions, and 99% of the members are related lioness. They are the core of lions, responsible for daily hunting and raising offspring.
Because every male lion will kill the offspring of the last male lion when he arrives, and then mate to leave his offspring, the females in the whole lion group often estrus at the same time and give birth at the same time, which directly leads to the different feeding methods of young lions from other cats.
Lions in Galenti National Park
Whenever she is about to survive, the lioness will act alone, find a shelter, give birth to the baby alone, and then raise it. When the cubs reach a certain age (usually a month or 40 days), the lioness will take them back to their original pride.
Because the lionesses of the same group of lions gave birth to cubs almost at the same time, other lionesses also brought back their children one after another, and the whole group of lions suddenly became lively. These cubs will be raised together, just like a nursery. Whether born or not, whether they are their own children or not, all females will take part in taking care of their cubs.
Some people say, what is the male lion doing during the time when the lioness is breeding? In fact, lions will also participate in raising young lions. The area where a large number of cubs are located is the core area of the whole lion group. During this period, all females' main habitats are here, so lions will patrol and defend their territory around this place, and occasionally reunite with their wives and children.
The lion's greatest function to the cubs is to teach them how to live after leaving the pride. After all, lions can't stay in the original pride, like Simba's situation in The Lion King doesn't exist in reality.
Lions are dominated by females. Lions are matriarchal society, and women have always been dominant. They are the heart and soul of lions, while males show strong instability. The females of the whole pride are sisters or immediate relatives, so no matter which lion comes to the pride, it will not affect the feelings between females.
In most people's cognition, the responsibility of defending territory seems to fall on the lion's head, but few people know that the lioness plays a considerable role. They are not only responsible for defending the territory, but also for expanding and defining the territory.
Because lions are masters without territory, they will have their own territory only when they enter the pride. This territory is the territory of lions, which was defined by the lioness a long time ago. Most of the intruders in the territory are other lionesses who live nearby and want to expand their territory.
When a group of lions become too big, will the lioness work hard around for her cubs? Open up territory? Then let the daughters take over the new territory and let them start to develop their own lions. After all, a habitat can't carry too many lions.
The lioness plays a dominant role in the pride, not only in preying and defining the territory, but also in the choice of lions. Generally speaking, a lioness among lions will welcome several lions in her life. Although most of these lions came in by defeating the old lion king, if the lioness prefers a lion king, then they will deliberately let him stay. Simply put, when a lioness has a crush on a lion in charge, is it the only thrill? .
The image of a lion
So by what characteristics does the lioness decide that the lion is her own? Mr. Right? What about yours? The main feature is the mane of the lion. The female lion prefers the most eye-catching appearance of the male lion. If the male lion has a black mane, it will be more popular with the female lion. Therefore, to some extent, it can be said that the male lion's mane is mainly to attract the female lion, just like the male peacock will open the screen. If it weren't for the lioness, there was absolutely no need to keep it. After all, the black mane absorbs heat more.
For the lioness, they think that the black mane is a symbol of genetic Excellence, which means higher testosterone concentration, good health, stronger resistance to parasites and so on.
Of course, the color of the lion's mane will change with time. The older you get, the darker your mane will be, but it will also be affected by your physical condition. For example, if a lion is infected with parasites or his health becomes worse, his mane will fall off. If he is healthier, his mane will be darker, more shiny and look very gorgeous.
Super lions league
Once an unstable lion enters the pride, it will have an absolute detached position, but for a pride, the lion will only stay for a short time, and the competition for the pride is fierce. It is difficult for a lion to stay in a group of lions for more than three years, but what if it is like? Bad boy league? Such a super lion alliance may last a little longer, but it is generally short-lived. The life of a lion is fast and full of passion. Most of them spend their time fighting with each other and constantly repelling the challengers until they are defeated.
But just because lions are defeated doesn't mean they will die alone. If physical conditions permit, they will continue to look for new lions and then challenge them until they enter the next group of lions or can't fight any more.
Scar and Mufasa in The Lion King
In the impression of most people, lions act or fight alone, but in fact, lions rarely act alone. Due to fierce competition, most lions will form an alliance with more than one lion and then fight together to join the lions. Only in the distribution of power, the strongest lion has an absolute position, and his brothers will also show absolute obedience, because they know that they must rely on it if they want to survive and continue to rule the lions. Scar? With what? Mufasa? This phenomenon of brothers killing each other does not exist in reality, and lions know better than anyone else.
In fact, the instability and unity of lions were doomed as early as childhood. For lions, they are doomed not to stay on the original lions, because all the females in them are related to them. If they stay among lions, they will mate with their sisters, mothers and aunts, and even grandmothers and cousins. Such inbreeding is very unfavorable to the development of lion groups, so animals will develop their own mechanisms to avoid inbreeding, and so will lions.
As mentioned earlier, most cubs of lions tend to be born at the same time, and so do lions. When all the cubs in the pride are old enough to run away from home, these cubs will go out in teams and lead a wandering life.
Next to the lion? Shelter? Education, these little lions know the truth of unity, and the Super Lion League is also at this stage.
Of course, some smaller lions may only have one cub. If they have no brothers, they will join or accept other lions without brothers, or only two or three lions will form an alliance and then capture the lions.
In fact, almost every animal's habits are influenced by its habitat environment. For lions, their main living area is the prairie, without much shelter. If they live alone, it is difficult to survive, so living in groups is their most correct way. The lion originated from 6.5438+0.24 million years ago and has developed to this day. Its philosophy of existence is worth studying and thinking about.