Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos

[BorneanTiger]

(09-01-2019, 11:18 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: I briefly mentioned here that there is a book from the year 1829 which spoke of 3 types of lions: the Bengal lion (Asiatic lion, Felis leo bengalensis), Barbary lion and Cape lion (Felis leo capensis), and that though the Bengal lion was smaller than the Cape lion, it had a more extensive mane than the Cape lion (which like the Barbary lion had such a 'luxuriant' mane that it covered the belly):

*This image is copyright of its original author

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*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

This is not the only case of Asiatic lions having belly-covering manes. Images from Mesopotamia (mostly Iraq) and Iran show likewise, and this Heptner and Sludskiy had this sketch of the Middle Eastern or Persian lion (by N. N. Kondakov) in their book, from the work of Hemmer (1967): 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Depictions of Middle Eastern lions with belly-covering manes: 

Palace of Darius, Iran: 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Ishtar Gate, Babylon, Iraq: 

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The Lion Hunt of Ashurbanipal, Assyrian reliefs from Nineveh, northern Iraq: 

Gandelman: 

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Raddato's picture showing a relief of Assyrian King Ashurbanipal himself killing a lion: 

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I also came across this, but so far, I only see a cheetah. Reply