ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - B - THE LION (Panthera leo)

[Polar]

In my opinion, a darker-maned lion doesn't always mean enhanced strength or fighting ability, and protection-wise? Only slightly more, as pckts stated (a tiger can still penetrate the mane VERY easily with its jaws.) I've known lions with bright manes/or young lions (Notch, for example) easily match and surpass older and darker-maned individuals in terms of physical force production.

Though, a darker-maned lion is a slightly better indicator of long pride/territory stability or simply more testosterone. However, there are also bright-maned lions with higher testosterone levels than the dark-maned ones. It's the same with tigers with larger ruffs and tigers without ruffs.

About the fur, I think lions are quite equal with desert-thriving leopards in terms of the amount of fur covering their bodies. Tigers, jaguars, and forested leopards have the most fur since the forest contains many sharp thorns and leaves for penetrating skin.

What I am trying to say is that the individual animal within its own species is a better measurement of physicality and toughness rather than the apparent "dominant" traits developed within a species (i.e., larger/darker mane, bigger mane). Reply