panthero leo
DESCRIPTION
Panthero leo. By: Lucille Radun. Comes from the family Felidae One of the largest living felids today Male lion- recognized by its mane and can weigh up to 250kg Female lion-smaller than male, weighing only up to 150kg Survival: in the wild-14 yrs - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Available at http://planet.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Eco_people/Presentations/
Panthero leo
By: Lucille Radun
Introduction Comes from the family Felidae One of the largest living felids today Male lion- recognized by its mane and can weigh up to 250kg Female lion-smaller than male, weighing only up to 150kg Survival: in the wild-14 yrs in captivity - up to 20 yearsLion (Panthero leo)Conservation status: Vulnerable Scientific classification Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:ChordataClass:MammaliaOrder:CarnivoraFamily:FelidaeGenus:PantheraSpecies:P. leoBinomial name:Panthero leo(Linnaeus, 1758)
Adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion
Introduction Cont. Africa’s predator
populations declining Lion’s experienced most
serious decline Large predators such as
lions are keystone species The presence of large
carnivores such as lions, cheetahs and tigers, defines a healthy ecosystem
If an area supports them, it is also supporting populations of other mammals upon which they feed and consequentially the vegetation that those mammals require
Population and Distribution In historic times-spanned
much of Eurasia and all of Africa
Lion population disappeared from Europe since 2nd century AD
Currently only numerous in Central Africa
Many subspecies of lions have even become extinct
These include the Cape Lion and the European Cave Lion
Today, only 10lions are seen to inhabit a forest in Western India
Rest of the lion population are found in Sub-Saharan Africa
Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion
Adapted from http://www.absolutelywildvisuals.com
Physiology 2nd largest of the big cats Full grown males-up to 250kg in
weight and up to 10 feet in length
Full grown females-up to 150kg in weight and up to nine feet in length
Lions bodies - lithe, compact, muscular and deep chested with a rounded and shortened head bearing prominent whiskers
The main feature distinguishing make from female is the presence of a mane
Male’s mane increases its size, serves as a visual indication of gender from a distance and adds to its aura during displays to impress lioness
Taxonomy Main difference between
lion subspecies are location, size and the appearance of the mane
Genetic evidence suggests a common ancestor for lions which existed only 55,000 yrs ago
A few examples of lion subspecies include:
Panthero leo massaicus-Massai lion
Panthero leo nubica-East African lion
Panthero leo persica-Asiatic lion
Panthero leo roosevelti-Abyssinian lion The Asiatic lion- Panthero leo persica
Lion Behavior Lions have extremely creative
ways of limiting their serious injury during violent attacks
Weaker pride members, e.g. cubs, adopt a cringing position, by crouching or lying submissively on their backs, thus, purposefully exposing themselves and making them an easy kill for the superior lion or aggressor
The aggressor sees the gesture and no longer feels threatened and breaks off the attack
Members of different prides do not deal with disputes in the same manner
Disputes can be extremely violent or fatal encounters and submissive gestures can only result in severe injury or death
Mating Females come into estrous at
the age of 2 ½ to 3 years and have litters every 2 years depending on the food supply
Male detects hormonal changes in the lioness through the odour of the lionesses urine
Male makes a facial grimace known as “flehman”
Male raises its head, swirls the lionesses urine in its mouth, inhales deeply, then exposing his teeth and gums
Males become extremely protective of their mates
Mating cont. A prelude to mating
exhibited by the lioness includes rubbing, nudging, rolling over on her back, etc to initiate intercourse
Lioness gains the attention of the male and assumes a crouched mating posture with the base of her tail lifted
Copulation lasts for 5-20 seconds
During this time, lions mate frequently
Every 20 to 30 minutes for 3 to 7 days
The estrous cycle lasts from 3 days to 3 weeks
Hunting Not efficient hunters-capturing prey consisting of zebras, wildebeests and
antelope in only 20 to 30% of their attempts Referred to as opportunistic hunters because they eat whatever they catch
for themselves or steal from other predators Bodies not well adapted for leaping or reaching very high speeds or long
distances If they are not successful within a few hundred meters, they give up the
chase Two major causes of hunting failure relate to: stalking of the prey and the
execution of the lion charge Firstly, although they have an excellent sense of smell, they do not make
use of scent when hunting In most cases they approach the prey from an upwind location, in turn,
alerting the prey which quickly ends the hunt Secondly, lions attacks are generally launched directly at their prey, rarely
altering the path of attack like other felids An important food source in lions is scavenging where they are able to get
up tp 10 or 15 % of their total food intake.
Major Threats Loss of habitat to
population growth Agricultural expansion Hunting Poisoning by livestock
ranchers
Mountain lions
Introduction
Live for an average of 12-13 years in the wild and up to 21 years in captivity
Body length: 105-180cm, tail length: 60-90cm, shoulder height: 56-78cm
Average weight: males: 53-72kg, females: 34-48kg. Males can have exceptional weight up to 120kg
Communicate through vocalisations
Classification Scientific Name - Puma concolor
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Cordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Subfamily: Felinae Genus: Puma Species: Puma Concolor
Distribution They are American terrestrial mammals Range from coast to coast in North America, Southern
Argentina and Chile, and Southeastern Alaska Most widely spread cats of America They also have a range of subspecies with a few being: North America: P.c.borbensis, P.c.californicus,
P.c.cougar, Central America: P.c.hippolestes, P.c.kaibabensis,
P.c.oregonensis, P.c.schorgeri, South America: P.c.acrocodia, P.c.anthonyi, P.c.bangsi,
P.c.puma.
Physical Description Large, slender cats with muscular
limbs and large feet Hind legs being proportionally
longest of the cat family Coats are grey or brown, and short
and coarse in texture Pink nose Creamy white underside Tip of tail black and black muzzle
with stripes and also black behind the ears
Long tail reaching a third of the cat’s total length
Behavior Solitary animals only seen
together breeding time or in the case of mothers living with their young
Migrate constantly depending on availability of prey, time of year, etc
Usually hunt at dawn, dusk and night with limited activity during the day
They a good hunters Territorial creatures
marking their territory with urine and faeces and also scrape (i.e. small piles)
Feeding habits Predatory carnivores Prey on white-tailed
deer, rabbit, raccoon, birds, etc.
They drag their prey into concealed places away from other animals
They also kill and eat domestic livestock
Panthero leo versus Puma concolor They differ in:
size
appearance
behaviour
feeding and
distribution
References http://www.pbase.com/mactarheel/image/27808576 http://www.knet.co.za/sa-mpumalanga/animal.htm http://spaghoops.com/squelch/african_wildlife.htm http://www.absolutelywildvisuals.com/search-57381.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion http//:lionsforever.com http://cyberzoomobile/lions.com