Panthera Leo

A lion in Europe

10, 000 years ago, a lion almost twice the size of today's lions lived in Europe. Its construction plan was almost identical to that of today's lion, but cave paintings show that the males did not have a mane. For camouflage, it had an almost white coat and hunted ungulates and even humans.

Particularly long and dark manes are a sign of good condition and fighting strength, as hormone status and nutritional status influence the density and length of the mane. Experimental studies with stuffed male lions have shown that females react positively to models with longer and darker manes, while males tend to avoid models with pronounced manes. The mane could be of practical use as protection against paw blows and bites in rank fights between rival males. This explains the evolutionary advantage. Males have a long mane to protect their neck and throat in case of a fight. Females, on the other hand, which are more specialised in hunting and not fighting, do not need a mane when hunting.

However, recent research has shown that temperature also has an important influence on the size of the mane, and male lions in colder areas even develop stronger manes than those living in very warm areas, regardless of their subspecies. Thus, male lions in zoos in cooler regions usually develop stronger manes than their conspecifics in warmer climes.

In Asian lions, the mane is less pronounced than in their African counterparts. Young lions lack it altogether. It takes over five years for a male lion to have a fully developed mane. In some areas of Africa, such as Tsavo National Park in Kenya, many males are maneless or have only weak manes. Also, in the Pendjari and W National Park areas in West Africa, almost all males have no or only a weak mane. Thus, it is certainly not clear why some lions have a thicker mane in certain areas than in others.