The social organisation of the lion is in flux but it is useful to start at the situation that most people know which is a settled pride of lions comprising, on average, 4-5 (range 1-11), related females (sisters, daughters, cousins … Continue reading →
NEWS AND COMMENT: I hope you get the pun in the title. Zookeepers at Guangzhou Zoo deny that they gave one of their lions a mullet or Tiger King, Joe Exotic, haircut and claim that it is the hot and … Continue reading →
Overview: The African lion habitat includes the plains of the Serengeti in East Africa and woodlands, deserts, dry forest and scrub. Underlying these habitats is the preference for open areas. In open plains lions use the cover of gullies and … Continue reading →
On 28 August 1939, the Coventry Evening Telegraph reported: “There has for many years been a legend in East Africa that spotted lions exist there”. The rumours of the existence of spotted lions filtered through from Africa from about 1903. … Continue reading →
Domestic and feral cats sometimes live in groups and the lion, a big cat, lives in groups (prides). These are not the only two cat species who live in groups as male cheetahs also form coalitions. Domestic and feral cats … Continue reading →
Most wild cats lead solitary lives. Except for cheetahs and lions, adult wild cats live and hunt separately. By contrast, we know that the purpose of domestic cats is not to be solitary but to engage with humans and other … Continue reading →
It’s a sentimental question but a fair one and the answer has to be yes if we define love as a strong emotional connection between sentient beings. You never see any reference to lions feeling love for each other in … Continue reading →
This post is specifically about the act of killing a prey animal. I am not going to discuss the predation process as a whole i.e. the stalking and attacking elements of the kill. This is about how a lion might … Continue reading →
Fortunately, the IUCN Red List, the organisation charged with compiling data on the population sizes of wild cat species, can provide us with a figure which is 23,000-39,000 mature individuals. They say that the population is not severely fragmented but … Continue reading →
This photo is by Amy Shutt. A great picture for me because we always see lions in hot weather in arid conditions. It is unusual to see them enjoying the rain and I bet they are enjoying it. They are … Continue reading →
