亞洲獅
亞洲獅（學名：Panthera leo persica）是現今只存活在印度的獅子亞種。牠們曾一度分佈在地中海至印度，佔據了大部份的西南亞，故其名為「波斯亞種」。
亞洲獅現今在野外的數量只有250-350隻，都只生活在印度古吉拉特邦的吉爾森林國家公園。歷史上牠們的分佈地囊括了從高加索至也門及由希臘的馬其頓經伊朗、阿富汗及巴基斯坦至印度及孟加拉邊境的大片區域。
特徵及行為
亞洲獅的毛皮較其非洲近親蓬鬆，尾巴端的穗及肘上的毛髮較長。雄獅及雌獅的腹部都有明顯摺疊的皮膚。亞洲獅是所有獅子亞種中最細小的，雄獅重160-190公斤，雌獅重110-120公斤。科學紀錄上最長的雄獅長292厘米，肩高最高達107厘米。最大被獵殺的雄獅則長3米。
亞洲獅是高度群居的動物。亞洲獅群較非洲獅群細小，平均只有兩隻雌獅。雄性亞洲獅較少群居，只會在交配或獵食大型動物時，才會與獅群聯繫。有指獅群的大小可能是與獵物的體型有關，亞洲獅所處理的獵物較非洲的細小，而獅子的數量亦不用太多。亞洲獅的獵物主要是水鹿、花鹿、藍牛羚、印度瞪羚、野豬及家畜。
亞洲獅
雄性亞洲獅
雌性亞洲獅
保育狀況
印度的吉爾森林國家公園約有359隻亞洲獅，生活在1412平方公里的叢林及遼闊的落葉林。於1907年獲得全面保護時，牠們估計就只有13隻存活。到了1936年，第一次替吉爾森林國家公園內的亞洲獅進行統計，牠們就有234隻存活。
孟加拉虎曾與亞洲獅一同生活在印度西部及中部至150-200年前，但現已在印度滅絕。亞洲獵豹喜歡棲息在遼闊的草原，而亞洲獅則喜歡棲息在遼闊的森林。由於人類人口的暴漲，使得牠們的棲息地不斷減少，且成為當地及英國殖民者的獵殺對象。
近親繁殖
野外的亞洲獅群估計約有350隻，相信是源自13隻存活的亞洲獅，故很有可能是高度的近親繁殖。很多研究都指近親繁殖會出現較弱的免疫系統及不育的精子。早期的研究指亞洲獅的遺傳指紋分析就像是一對雙胞胎，使牠們很易染病及有70-80%的精子瓦解，若再進行近親繁殖，則會導致不育。後來的研究指亞洲獅低的遺傳變異性可能是牠們原有的特質，而非源自近親繁殖。原因是牠們的免疫分型與虎的很接近，且精子沒有異樣。不過這項研究是使用不適合群族遺傳研究的隨機擴增多態性DNA技術，故其結果受到質疑。
1900年代的13隻亞洲獅的數量有指是不準確的，目的是要跨大問題來遏止獵殺。一些當時的統計指亞洲獅的數量應該接近100隻。獵殺獅子是當時英國殖民者及印度皇室的歡迎的活動，在印度的其他獅子亞種都因此而滅絕。
保護狀況
瀕危 (IUCN 3.1)
科學分類
界： 動物界 Animalia
門： 脊索動物門 Chordata
綱： 哺乳動物綱 Mammalia
目： 食肉目 Carnivora
科： 貓科 Felidae
屬： 豹屬 Panthera
種： 獅 P. leo
亞種： 亞洲獅 P. l. persica
三名法
Panthera leo persica
Meyer, 1826
亞洲獅現今的野外分佈地
異名
Leo leo goojratensis（印度）
Leo leo persicus（波斯）
威脅
亞洲獅由於會襲擊家畜，故經常被毒殺。農民為了灌溉已挖掘的水井，也會令亞洲獅失足而溺斃。位於吉爾森林國家公園周邊的農民經常使用非法電網，避免藍牛羚來吃農作物，但也會殺死亞洲獅。
在吉爾森林國家公園附近的瑪爾德哈里牧民雖然是素食者，並不會獵殺亞洲獅作為食物。不過他們平均每家飼有50隻牛，令當地過份放牧。這種破壞令亞洲獅的獵物失去棲息地，牠們於是轉向攻擊牛群或人類。這些牧民現已遷離吉爾森林國家公園。
其他的威脅包括洪水、火災及傳染病。牠們有限的棲息地令牠們更易受到威脅。
歷史
亞洲獅曾分佈在歐洲。阿里士多德及希羅多德都指巴爾幹半島有獅子出沒。於前480年，波斯王澤克西斯一世曾進駐馬其頓，有幾隻駱駝被獅子殺死。約於80年至100年，獅子已從希臘的邊境消失。這些歐洲的獅子有可能是亞洲獅的一群，或是另一個亞種的歐洲獅，或是穴獅的餘種。
於1968年，在北非發現了巴巴里獅的頭顱骨。這些骨顱骨與好望角獅子、亞洲獅及非洲獅子的頭顱骨有相同的特徵。故此，估計北非及亞洲的獅子有着很親密的關係，而已滅絕的歐洲獅可能就是這條失落的關連。一些巴巴里獅可能是與北非的亞洲獅交配後，混種產下較大或較細小的獅子。
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Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica) or Persian lion or the Indian Lion is a subspecies of the lion which survives today only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India. In 2005, the Gujarat government reported that 359 Asiatic lions were sighted in the Gir forest.
The Asiatic lion is one of the three major big cats found in India, the others being the Bengal tiger and the Indian leopard. The Asiatic lions once ranged from the Mediterranean to the north-eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent, but excessive hunting, water pollution and decline in natural prey reduced their habitat.Historically, Asiatic lions were classified into three kinds – Bengal, Arabian and Persian lions. Asiatic lion are smaller and lighter than their African counterparts, but are equally aggressive.
Asiatic Lion
Male
Female (Lioness)
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Biology and behavior
Panthera leo persica, sketch by A.M Kamarov (1826)
Asiatic lions are similar to African forms, though they have less swollen tympanic bullae, shorter postorbital constriction, and usually have divided infraorbital foramen. The colour ranges from reddish-brown to a highly mottled black to sandy cinnamon grey.
Their size corresponds to that of central African lions. In adult males, the maximum skull length is 330-340 mm, while that of females is 266-277 mm. They reach a weight of 160-190 kg. (n=4) for the males and 110-120 kg. (n=2) for the females.The scientific record for the longest male is of 292 cm,while the maximum height to the shoulders reported is of 107 cm.The Captain Smee hunted a male of 268 cm long, which weight 222.3 kg, excluding the entrails. The largest known wild male, in the hunting records, was exactly 3 m (9.9 ft) in length.
Asiatic lions are highly social animals, living in units called prides. Their lion prides are smaller than those of African lions, with an average of only two females, whereas an African pride has an average of four to six. The Asiatic males are less social and only associate with the pride when mating or on a large kill. It has been suggested that this may be because their prey animals are smaller than those in Africa, requiring fewer hunters to tackle them.Asiatic lions prey predominantly on deer (sambar & chital), antelope (nilgai), gazelle (chinkara), wild boar, water buffalo and livestock.
Status
The Gir Forest National Park of western India has about 359 lions (as of April 2006) which live in a 1,412 km² (558 square miles) sanctuary covered with scrub and open deciduous forest habitats. The population in 1907 was believed to consist of only 13 lions when the Nawab of Junagadh gave them complete protection. This figure however is highly controversial because the first census of lions in the Gir that was conducted in 1936 yielded a result of 234 animals.
Until about 150 to 200 years ago, the Bengal Tiger, along with the Indian leopard, shared most of their habitat, where the Asiatic Lion was found in large parts of west and central India along with the Asiatic Cheetah, now locally extinct in India. However, Asiatic Cheetahs preferred open grasslands, and the Asiatic Lions preferred open forests interspersed with grasslands, which is also home to tigers and leopards. At one time, the Bengal Tiger and Asiatic lion might have competed with each other for food and territory.
These Indian big cats lost most of their open jungle and grassland habitat in India to the rising human population which almost completely converted their entire habitat in the plains of India into farmland. They frequently became targets of local and British colonial hunters.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. leo
Subspecies: P. l. persica
Trinomial name
Panthera leo persica
Meyer, 1826
Current distribution of the Asiatic Lion in the wild
Synonyms
Leo leo goojratensis (India)
Leo leo persicus (Persia)
Threats to the subspecies
Lions are poisoned for attacking livestock.Some of the other major threats include floods, fires and epidemics. Their restricted range makes them especially vulnerable.
Nearly 15,000 to 20,000 open wells dug by farmers in the area for irrigation have also acted as traps, which led to many lions drowning.[citation needed] To counteract the problem, suggestions for walls around the wells, as well as, the use of "Drilled Tube wells" have been made.
Farmers on the periphery of the Gir Forest frequently use crude and illegal electrical fences by powering them with high voltage overhead power lines. These are usually intended to protect their crops from Nilgai but lions and other wildlife are also killed.
Habitat decline in the Gir Forest may also be contributed by the presence of nomadic heardsmen known as Maldharis. These communities are vegetarian and do not indulge in poaching, but with an average of 50 cattle (mainly "Gir Cow") per family, overgrazing is a concern. The habitat destruction by the cattle and the firewood requirements of the populace reduces the natural prey base and endangers the lions. The lions are in turn forced by the lack of natural prey to shift to kill cattle and in turn, are targeted by people. Many Maldharis have been relocated outside the park by the forestry to allow the lions a more natural surrounding and more natural prey.
Inbreeding concerns
The wild population of more than 300 Asiatic Lions has been said to be derived from just 13 individuals, and thus was widely thought to be highly inbred. However, this low figure, quoted from 1910, may have been publicised to discourage lion hunting; census data from the time indicates the population was probably closer to 100. Many studies have reported that the inbred populations could be susceptible to diseases due to a weakening immune system, possibly causing their sperm to be deformed, leading to infertility. In earlier studies Stephen O'Brien, a geneticist, had suggested that "If you do a DNA fingerprint, Asiatic lions actually would look like identical twins... because they descend from as few as a dozen individuals that was all left at the turn of the 20th century." This makes them especially vulnerable to diseases, and causes 70% to 80% of sperm to be deformed — a ratio that can lead to infertility when lions are further inbred in captivity.
A subsequent study suggested that the low genetic variability may have been a feature of the original population and not a result of inbreeding in recent times. They also show that the variability in immunotypes is close to that of the tiger population and that there are no spermatazoal abnormalities in the current population of Asiatic Lions.[16][17] The results of the study have been questioned due the use of RAPD techniques, which are unsuitable for population genetics research.
The population figure of 13 Asiatic lions at the turn of the 20th century, is highly questionable, according to some reports and is said to have been publicized as such, to discourage hunting. Census data from that time indicates that the population was closer to 100 lions.Hunting of lions was a popular sport with the British Colonialists and Indian Royalty, and all other lions in India had been exterminated by then.
Genetic hybridization of captive Asiatic lions and African lions
Until recently, captive Asiatic Lions in Indian zoos were interbred with African Lions, which were confiscated from circuses. Once discovered, this led to the complete shutdown of the European (EEP) and the American endangered species registered breeding programs (SSP) for Asiatic Lions, as the founder animals, the Asiatic lions, originally imported from India were ascertained to be an intraspecific hybrids of African and Asian lions. Since then, India has corrected its mistake and now breeds only pure native Asiatic Lions, and in turn has helped revive the European endangered species registered breeding program (EEP) for Asiatic Lions. However, the American SSP, which completely shutdown in the early 1980s has yet to receive pure bred Asiatic Lions from India, in order to form a new founder population for breeding in zoos on the American continent.
Reintroduction
The habitat of the Asiatic lion is very small
Main articles: Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project and Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary
For over a decade, effort has been made to establish a second independent population of Asiatic Lions at the Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Wildlife Institute of India researchers confirmed that the Sanctuary is the most promising location to re-establish a free-ranging population of the Asiatic lions, and has certified it as ready to receive its first batch of translocated lions from the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, where they are highly overpopulated. The Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary was selected as the reintroduction site for the Asiatic lion because it is located in the former range of the lions before they were hunted into extinction in about 1873. However, the state of Gujarat has been resisting the relocation, since it would make the Gir Sanctuary lose its status as the world's only home of the Asiatic lion. Gujarat has raised a number of objections to the proposal, and the matter is now before the Indian Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Kuno officials are toying with the idea of releasing some captive-bred lions into the wild, after training them in hunting and survival techniques.
Asiatic Lions in Europe and Southwest Asia
Lions were once found in Europe. Aristotle and Herodotus wrote that lions were found in the Balkans. When King Xerxes of Persia advanced through Macedon in 480 BC, several of his baggage camels were killed by lions. Lions are believed to have died out within the borders of present-day Greece around AD 80-100. The Nemean Lion from Greek Mythology is widely associated with depictions of Heraklis/Hercules in Greek Mythological art.
The European population is sometimes considered part of the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) group, but others consider it a separate subspecies, the European lion (Panthera leo europaea) or a last remnant of the Cave lion (Panthera leo spelaea).
Lions were found in the Caucasus until the 10th century. This was the northernmost population of lions and the only place in the former Soviet Union's territory that lions lived in historic times. These lions became extinct in Armenia around the year 100 and in Azerbaijan and southwest Russia during the 10th century. The region was also inhabited by the Caspian Tiger and the Persian Leopard apart from Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) introduced by Armenian princes for hunting. The last tiger was shot in 1932 near Prishib village in Talis, Azerbaijan Republic. The principal reasons for the disappearance of these cats was their extermination as predators. The prey for large cats in the region included the wisent, elk, aurochs, tarpan, deer and other ungulates.
Lions remained widespread elsewhere until the mid-19th century when the advent of firearms led to its extinction over large areas. The last sighting of a live Asiatic Lion in Iran was in 1941 (between Shiraz and Jahrom, Fars province). In 1944, the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of Karun river, Khuzestan province, Iran. There are no subsequent reliable reports from Iran.By the late 19th century the lion had disappeared from Turkey.
The Barbary Lion
Main article: Barbary Lion
In 1968, a study of the skulls of the extinct Barbary (North African), extinct Cape, Asiatic, and African lions showed the same skull characteristics - the very narrow bar - that existed in the Barbary and Asiatic lion skulls.[citation needed] This shows that there may have been a close relationship between the lions from Northernmost Africa and Asia. It is also believed that the South European lion that became extinct around AD 80-100, could have represented the connecting link between the North African and Asiatic lions. It is believed that Barbary lions possessed the same belly fold (hidden under their manes) that are seen in the Asian lions today. Some Barbary lions may have been bred with the North African subspecies of Asiatic lion, thus producing hybrids that are bigger or smaller than their parents.
Asiatic Lion in Culture
Bharat Mata" ("Mother India"), National personification of India, depicted with an Asiatic / Indian lion at her side
For more details on this topic, see Cultural depictions of lions.
Found famously on numerous Flags and Coat of Arms all across Asia and Europe, the Asiatic Lions also stand firm on the National Emblem of India.
Narasimha ("man-lion") (also spelt as Narasingh, Narasinga) is described as an incarnation (avatara) of Vishnu within the Puranic texts of Hinduism and is worshiped as "Lion God" thus Indian or Asiatic Lions which were commonly found throughout most of India in ancient times are considered sacred by all Hindus in India.
Singh is an ancient Indian vedic name meaning "Lion" (Asiatic Lion), dating back over 2000 years to ancient India. It was originally only used by Rajputs a Hindu Kshatriya or military caste in India since the 7th Century. After the birth of the Khalsa brotherhood in 1699, the Sikhs adopted the name "Singh" due to the wishes of Guru Gobind Singh. Along with millions of Hindu Rajputs today, it is also used by up to 10 million Sikhs worldwide.
"Singhāsana (lit., seat of a lion)" is the traditional Sanskrit name for the throne of a Hindu kingdom in India since antiquity.
The island nation of Singapore (Singapura) derives its name from the Malay words singa (lion) and pura (city), which in turn is from the Sanskrit िंसह siṃha and पुर pura.According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a 14th century Sumatran Malay prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, on alighting the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on shore that his chief minister identified as a lion (Asiatic Lion).Recent studies of Singapore indicate that lions have never lived there, and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was likely a tiger.
The Asiatic lion makes repeated appearances in the Bible, most notably as having fought Samson in the Book of Judges.
The Asiatic lion is the basis of the lion dances that form part of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations, and of similar customs in other Asian countries.
Chinese guardian lions: Interestingly, the lion is not indigenous to China however Asiatic lions were quite common in neighboring India then. These Asiatic lions found in nearby India are the ones depicted in the Chinese culture. When Buddhist priests, or possibly traders, brought stories to China about stone Asiatic / Indian lions guarding the entry to Indian Buddhist temples, Chinese sculptors modeled statues after native dogs for use outside their temples as nobody in China had ever seen a real lion before. The mythic version of the animal, was known as the Lion of Fo, the word Fo 佛 being Chinese for Buddha. The Mandarin pronunciation of the word for lion is "Shi" derives from the Cantonese "Si" which is a shortened form adopted from their Sanskrit name "Sinh" in the neighboring India. The Buddhist version of the Lion was originally introduced to Han China as the protector of dharma and these lions have been found in religious art as early as 208 BC. Gradually they were incorporated as guardians of the Chinese Imperial dharm. Lions seemed appropriate regal beasts to guard the emperor's gates and have been used as such since.
The Asiatic Lion appears in the 2010 remake of the 1925 The Lost World.
This is the famous original sandstone sculpted Lion Capital of Ashoka preserved at Sarnath Museum which was originally erected around 250 BCE atop an Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath. The angle from which this picture has been taken, minus the inverted bell-shaped lotus flower, has been adopted as the National Emblem of India showing the Horse on the left and the Bull on the right of the Ashoka Chakra in the circular base on which the four Indian / Asiatic lions are standing back to back. On the far side there is an Elephant and a Lion instead. The wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base has been placed onto the center of the National Flag of India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_Lion
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E4%BA%9E%E6%B4%B2%E7%8D%85
