The
lion (
Panthera leo) is a member of the family
Felidae and one of four
big cats in the
genus Panthera. With exceptionally large males exceeding 250 kg (550
lb) in weight,
[2] it is the second-largest living cat after the
tiger. Wild lions currently exist in
sub-Saharan Africa and in
Asia with a
critically endangered remnant population in northwest
India, having disappeared from
North Africa, the
Middle East and
western Asia in historic times. Until the late
Pleistocene (about 10,000 years ago), the lion was the most widespread large land mammal beside humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India and, in the Americas, from the
Yukon to
Peru.
Should they survive the rigors of cubhood, lionesses in secure habitat such as
Kruger National Park may frequently reach an age of 12–14 years whereas lions seldom live for longer than 8 years.
[3] However, there are records of lionesses living for up to 20 years in the wild. In captivity both male and female lions can live for over 20 years. They typically inhabit
savanna and
grassland, although they may take to bush and
forest. Lions are unusually
social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large
ungulates. The lion is an
apex and
keystone predator, although they will resort to scavenging if the opportunity arises. While lions, in general, do not selectively hunt humans, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey.
The lion is a
vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50 percent over the past two decades in its African range;
[1] populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not well understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in
menageries since
Roman times and have been a key species sought after and exhibited in
zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered
Asiatic subspecies.
Visually, the male is highly distinctive and is easily recognized by its
mane. The head of the male lion is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human
culture. It has been depicted extensively in literature, in
sculptures, in
paintings, on national
flags, and in contemporary films and literature.
The lioness has been recognized, however, as the pinnacle of hunting prowess from the earliest of human writings and graphic representations. The lionesses are the hunters for their pride and capture their prey with precise and complex teamwork. Each lioness develops specific skills for her role in the hunting techniques used by her pride and, generally, assumes that role during most hunts. Members of human cultures living among lions in natural habitats have understood this characteristic and often have chosen the lioness to represent their most ferocious
war deities and
warriors, often naming their male rulers as her "son". Examples drawn from the earliest of written records include the
Egyptian pantheon deities of
Sekhmet,
Bast,
Menhit, and
Tefnut, and these deities may have had precursors in
Nubia and
Lybia. Other Egyptian deities are quite complex and assume aspects that may include one as a lioness headed human or a lioness in specific roles. Depictions of lions hunting in groups have existed from the
Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the
Lascaux and
Chauvet Caves.
獅子（ panthera利奧）是一個家庭成員felidae之一四大型貓科動物在屬panthera 。與特大男性超過250公斤（ 550磅）的重量， [ 2 ] ，這是第二大貓的生活後，老虎。野生獅子會目前存在的在撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲和亞洲的一個嚴重瀕危的殘餘人口在西北印度，有消失，從北非，中東和西亞在歷史時期。直到晚更新世（約1.0萬年前） ，獅子是最普遍的大型哺乳動物的土地旁邊的人。他們被發現在非洲大部分地區，大部分歐亞大陸從西歐到印度，並在美洲，從育空地區，以秘魯。
應他們生存的嚴酷cubhood ， lionesses在安全的棲息地，如克魯格國家公園，可能會經常達到1年齡12-14歲，而獅子很少活時間超過八年。 [ 3 ]但是，也有記錄lionesses生活了至20年在野生環境。圈養的男性和女性的獅子可以活超過20年。它們通常居住在熱帶稀樹草原和草地，雖然他們可能採取的布什和森林。獅子會是不同尋常的社會比起其他的貓。驕傲的獅子組成相關的女性，子女和少數成年男性。團體女獅子通常亨特在一起，捕食大多是對大型有蹄類動物。獅子是一個頂點和捕食的基石，雖然他們將訴諸清除如果有機會出現。而獅子，在一般情況，不要有選擇性地尋找人類，有些已成為眾所周知的男子吃，並尋求人類的獵物。
獅子是一個脆弱的物種，有可能出現不可逆轉的人口減少30到50 ％ ，超過過去20年中在非洲範圍內; [ 1 ]人口是站不住腳的以外的指定的儲備和國家公園。雖然事業的下降是不充分理解，棲息地喪失和衝突，人類目前最大的原因令人關注的問題。獅子會一直維持在menageries自羅馬時代，並一直為關鍵物種的要求後，和在動物園展示世界各地的後期以來，十八世紀。動物園合作，在世界各地育種程序為瀕危的亞洲亞種。
視覺上，男性是非常鮮明的，是很容易承認其鬃毛。頭部的男性獅子是其中一個最廣泛承認的動物符號，在人類文化。它已被廣泛地描繪在文學，在雕塑，繪畫的，對國家的國旗，和在當代的電影和文學作品。
該lioness已被確認，不過，由於品尼高狩獵的實力從最早的人類文字和圖形的申述。該lionesses是獵人，為他們的驕傲和捕獲獵物與精確和複雜的團隊精神。每個lioness發展的具體技能，她的作用，在狩獵所用技術的自豪感和她的，一般來說，假設的作用，在最捕殺。成員的人類文化生活之間的獅子在自然棲息地理解這一特點，而且往往選擇了lioness ，代表他們最兇惡的戰爭神和勇士，往往命名其男性統治者，她的「兒子」 。例子取自最早的書面記錄，包括埃及神殿神的賽克麥特，韌皮部， menhit ，泰芙努特，而這些神可能有前體在努比亞和利比亞。其他埃及神是相當複雜和承擔方面，其中可能包括一作為一個lioness為首的一人或lioness在特定的角色。描寫獅子在狩獵團體的存在從上游舊石器時期，雕刻和繪畫，從lascaux和chauvet洞穴。
[
本帖最後由 KSF 於 2008-9-13 06:45 PM 編輯 ]
