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

[BorneanTiger]

(09-04-2018, 10:38 AM)GuateGojira Wrote:

(08-30-2018, 01:35 PM)johnny rex Wrote: The tallest lion measured between pegs is 114 cm tall at the shoulder. But there are many sources said the tallest lion is at 124 tall at the shoulder which is equal to 4 feet. Which one is the accurate measurement?

Male lions normaly measure from 90-100 cm, the maximum taken "between pegs" is of 114 cm (Pitman 1942). The figures of up to 120 cm, in scientific documents at least, came from the study of Smuts et al. (1980), however the documents clearly says that the "shoulder" height recorded is not the standing height, but a measure from the shoulder to the tip of the paw taken along the curves. So no wild lion ever will measure 120 cm in standing height.

In fact, the figure of 125 cm in shoulder height belongs to the largest Panthera atrox specimen, according with Turner & Anton (1997).

Hope this helps. Greetings.

I have a question, are you sure that the figure of 120 cm in standing height cannot be reached by any lion, considering the limited populations of lions used in the study of Smuts et al. (https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wi....tb01433.x)? For Southern Africa in particular, Smuts et al. used samples from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), the Kalahari region (divided between Botswana, Namibia and South Africa) and Kruger National Park in South Africa, and I would like to mention that Botswanan lions in the Okavango Delta have a peculiar physique, in which the front part of the body is noticeably more prominent than the rear, or the front limbs are noticeably more prominent than the hind limbs, making them somewhat similar to hyenas and saber-toothed cats, and this has to do with their unusual lifestyle of swimming or going through water or swamps: 

Photo of an Okavango lion by Steve Jurvetson on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/6758587589/ 

*This image is copyright of its original author

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