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Quote:The growth kinetics presented in the present study indicate that captive-born lion cubs develop at a faster rate than wild-born cubs, which could account for the early puberty. Wild cubs are heavier for the first few months after birth, but between 3–5 months of age the growth patterns were the same to our captive cubs. Both captive and wild cubs begin to taste/consume meat a few months after birth and are usually weaned by 0.5 years [22,27,50]. However, after weaning, the plane of nutrition appears to diverge between wild- and captive-born cubs and the ADG rate is no longer synchronous, perhaps a result of feeding captive cubs meat daily. There is substantial variability in growth rate in wild African lions [22], and the rate at which lion cubs grow is correlated with food availability once they are weaned [50,51]. Cubs are dependent on adults for food [7,22], but when prey is scarce, young lions go without food for extended periods [50–52] and starvation is a common cause of death at that age [7,22,53]. Captive cubs likely experience an early onset of puberty and reach adult body weight earlier as a result of the consistent feedings they are provided [22,50,54]. For most mammals, the onset of puberty is associated with attaining a threshold body weight [55–59] and acquiring adequate fat reserves [60]. Under-nutrition can delay onset of puberty while over-conditioned animals often attain puberty at an earlier age.

The minimum body weight for triggering onset of puberty has not been established for African lions. The lightest wild males in Kruger National Park with spermatozoa in their seminiferous tubules weighed 110 kg (n = 2) [10]. Captive males reached ≥115 kg at ~1.3 years, compared with 2.2 years of age in the wild when they are reported to attain puberty. Males SB420 and SB422 were 105 kg at 1.2 years of age when spermatozoa were detected in their urine, corroborating Smuts’ findings based on lion weight. In the wild, growth slows between 2–3 years, but weight gain continues until lions reach a maximum weight around 6 years of age [22,50]. By contrast, captive males reached an adult weight by 3 years [27]. Additionally, the onset of mane development has been reported to occur earlier in captive males, another indicator that androgen production increases at a younger age than in wild males [61]. The observation of spermaturia in captive lions at 14 months of age (1.2 years) indicates that spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis were ongoing before that. Many zoos have programs that include training various species to urinate on command. Being able to identify when a young male has reached puberty through urine analyses would allow zoos to better manage them (separating males and females) and avoid inbreeding.

(04-07-2021, 05:14 AM)CatLover Wrote: I have also something to show all of you. This is probably the largest lion I have ever seen.

(06-08-2021, 01:04 PM)Betty Wrote: The 442.4 kg Siberian tiger (fasting weight).

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vms3.395

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Quote:AMY is one of the markers most commonly used for diagnosing pancreatic diseases, especially acute pancreatitis (Vissers et al., 1999). In this study, AMY level ranged from 1910 to 3,000 U L−1 with an average value of 2,563.45 U L−1. The AMY level for most tigers was approximately 3,000 U L−1, which could be interpreted as a sign of disease but was most likely related to a high-fat, high-protein or high-carbohydrate dietary (Grossman et al., 1943; Kondo et al., 1988).

(08-18-2021, 05:47 PM)TheLioness Wrote:

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*This image is copyright of its original author