Lion

Description:

A tan, light brown, or golden yellow mammal, a lion, or panthera leo, is a big time predator, with many structural, and behavrial adaptions. They are the biggest menbers of the cat family. The male is always bigger than the female, some exeeding 550 Pounds They are 1.4-2 m long with a 67-100 cm tail and an average height of 4 feet.

Habitat:

The lion is found Sub-Sahara Africa, Asia, Southwest Asia, West Africa, North Africa, and protected in Gir Fores Natinal Park India. Sadly, lions today are now vunerable, and endangered.

Notes:

Lions have many structural and behavioral adaptations. One of the best adaptations of lions is their sharp claws. They use them to kill prey and claw it up off the body to eat. Claws are also used as a defense. Another use of their claws is to display their strength and power to other animals, by keeping predators and competitors away. Claws also provide grip that lions need to gain speed while running. Since lions are carnivores, they depend on eating meat, and their sharp teeth make it easy for them to do so. Therefore, their teeth are another adaptation. They have no problem chewing and eating their food. Lions use their teeth as a defense as well. In case of a fight, their teeth help them survive. Whiskers are also a structural adaptation. They act as feelers for a lion and help it sense its surroundings. Whiskers help a lion find its way through tight spots and sense if it can fit in a particular area or not. A lion's whiskers can also sense prey. Lions also use protective resemblence. Their tan fur coloring blends in with its surroundings and is a good structural adaptation. One of a lion's behavioral adaptations is vocalization. It is used to communicate with its group. Lions hum when they are content, make a puffing noise when approaching each other with good intentions, and a grunt to keep in touch when moving from one area to another. Females roar to protect their cubs or to call other females to fend off intruders. Males roar to specify their location, display strength, or to signal to other animals to stay away from their pride. Some lions are nocturnal and hunt at night. Females do all the hunting. The strength of a group is geneally determined by how much food a pride has. Due to a lion's muscular body, they get very tired in the day. They spend 20 hours of the day resting. Hunting at night provides relief from heat during the day. This is a behavioral adaptation. The lion's family life is also a behavioral adaptation. Mothers hide and care for cubs for about 8 weeks. Mothers usually group together and help care for the young. Mothers who only have one cub usually feed the ones who have more because they have enough milk for more cubs. If the pride is running low on food, the mothers will abandon the cubs to help get food. They will make a new set of cubs when the food is plentiful. Lions teach their cubs to hunt, even as early as one year old. The cubs learn from the adult lions and learn to hunt and catch its prey. By the time they are two to three years old, they become experts. Males are forced out of the pride when they are around two years old to find a new pride for themselves, while the females are allowed to stay to make cubs for the future.