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Comparative Analysis of African and Asiatic Lions
Comparative Analysis of African and Asiatic Lions
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Comparative Analysis of African and Asiatic Lions
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There is only one species of lion called Panthera Leo. The Asiatic lion is just one of many subspecies, all of which have been geographically isolated from one another for thousands of years. Though they all possess slightly different physical and even behavioral traits, they are still capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring. The following is a list of all the known lion subspecies, both living and extinct.
1. Asiatic Lion (P.l. persica) (Gir Forest Sanctuary in Northwest India) 2. Angola Lion (P.l. bleyenberghi) (Zimbabwe, Angola and Zaire) 3. Senegalese Lion (P.l. senegalensis) (Western Africa) 4. Barbary or Atlas Lion (P.l. leo) (North Africa; extinct in 1920 but may exist in captivity) 5. Cape Lion (P.l. melanochaitus) (South Africa's Cape Province; extinct in 1850 but may exist in captivity) 6. Masai Lion (P.l. massaicus) (Eastern Africa, notably Kenya and Tanzania) 7. Transvaal or South African Lion (P.l. kruegri) (Botswana, Nambia and South Africa) Asiatic and African lions separated as recently as 100,000 years ago, and are thus very close in genetic make-up. In fact, the differences between the two are less than those found between different human racial groups. However, the differences are significant enough that one can tell the difference between an Asiatic and an African lion if they know what to look for. SIZE Asiatic lions are smaller than their African lions. Adult males typically weigh between 350 and 420 pounds, while adult females weigh between 240 and 365 pounds. The largest Asiatic lion on record measured 9½ feet from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. African lions are larger than Asiatic lions. Adult males average between 330 and 500 pounds in weight, with most weighing around 410 pounds. The largest African lion on record weighed over 800 pounds. Females typically weigh the same as their Asiatic cousins. The longest African lion measured almost 11 feet from nose to tail tip. MANE Compared to the African lion, the male Asiatic lion has a relatively short, sparse mane. As a result, the male Asiatic lion's ears tend to remain visible at all times. In addition to being less well-developed, the mane is generally darker than that of African lions. Male African lions tend to have longer and fuller manes than their Asiatic cousins. A lion's mane is a signal of male condition. It allows other lions to assess the male's overall strength and fitness. A male with a long, dark mane is more intimidating to his rivals and more attractive to the opposite sex. TUFTS Asiatic lions have thicker elbow tufts and a longer tail tuft than African lions. The tail tuft covers a short spine, the function of which is unknown. African lions have relatively sparse elbow tufts and a shorter tail tuft than Asiatic lions. SKIN FOLD Other than the male's sparse mane, the most distinguishing characteristic of the Asiatic lion is a longitudinal fold of skin that runs along the belly. This trait is found in all Asiatic lions. Almost all African lions lack the longitudinal fold of skin that runs along the belly of Asiatic lions. SKULL If you're ever tasked with finding out whether a lion is Asiatic or African based on its skull alone, here's a tip. Around 50 percent of Asiatic lions have what are called bifurcated infraorbital foramina. These are small holes in the skull that allow nerves and blood vessels to pass to the eye. If a lion's skull has two of these, it's an Asiatic lion. For whatever reason, African lions only have one infraorbital foramen. Their eyesight is just as strong as the Asiatic lion's, so there's no particular benefit to having two infraorbital foramina versus just one. PRIDE SIZE Lions are highly sociable and live in social units called prides. Asiatic prides tend to be smaller than their African counterparts. The largest recorded Asiatic pride included five adult females, but most just have two adult females. This may be because the animals they prey on are relatively small, or because their range in the Gir Forest is so confined. (It should be noted that further field studies may show that what were thought to be small prides are actually just small foraging groups from larger prides). In Africa, these prides include an average of four to six females, their cubs and one to four male lions. The faster, more agile females do the hunting while the larger male lions patrol and defend the pride's territory. The females in a pride usually give birth at the same time and raise their cubs together in a crèche, or nursery. MALE SOCIABILITY Male Asiatic lions do not live in prides. In fact, they tend to only associate with female lions when mating or at large kills. Otherwise, they live alone or in partnership with another male lion. These partnerships allow male Asiatic lions to control larger territories and more easily scare off rival males. In Africa, every lion pride has a resident male or group of males, which defend their prides vigorously against other males. Pride takeovers occur every two years, during which the suckling cubs of the defeated males are killed. This ensures that the new male will pass along his genes. PREY SIZE The prey animals in the Gir Forest are generally smaller than those in Africa, so hunting groups tend to be smaller as well. This likely explains why pride size is so small. The most commonly taken prey species in the Gir Forest is the chital deer, which weighs only around 110 pounds. These account for around 45 percent of known kills. The prey animals of the African savanna tend to be larger than those in the Gir Forest of Northwest India. African lions will frequently tackle prey weighing as much as 600 to 800 pounds, such as wildebeest and zebra, and will occasionally take down African buffalo, which weigh between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds. This requires cooperative hunting techniques, which may explain why African lions live in larger prides. Credit to Animal Planet Website 
This information is good for the no-initiated, but people like us know that it still contain some “popular” myths.
Here are the corrections: Subspecies: All the documents (about 8 or 9) about the genetic of lions, that I have read, support the fact that there are only TWO lion subspecies and the document of Dubach et al. (2013), the last one, and the only that summarize all the others state them: 1. Panthera leo leo – The Asian lineage: West-Central Africa, Barbary region, middle east and India (the Indian lions can keep they name Persica ONLY for conservation purposes. 2. Panthera leo melanochaita – The African lineage: Clade of East Africa and the clade of Southern Africa. Asiatic and African lions DO separated as recently as 100,000 years ago, and are thus very close in genetic make-up. This is correct. It is also true that the differences between the two are less than those found between different human racial groups and this also apply for the tiger “subspecies”, especially in the mainland. However, the morphological differences are NOT significant enough to tell the 100% accurately the difference between an Asiatic and an African lion. For example, West and Central African lions are IDENTICAL to the Gir lions. Also, the maneless populations of Tsavo present some traits that can be confused with those from India. So, we must take care in differentiate between “what” populations we are comparing. Size Asiatic lions are relative smaller than their African lions, in average and in maximum figures. Adult males typically weigh between 353 and 420 pounds (160 – 190 kg), while adult females weigh between 240 and 264 pounds (109 - 120 kg) . The largest Asiatic lion on record measured 9.7 feet (296 cm) from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail “between pegs”. Male African lions typically weigh between 320 and 500 pounds (145 – 227 kg) in weight, with an average around 386 pounds (175 kg) overall. The largest African lion hunted on record weighed 690 pounds (313 kg). Females typically weigh more than their Asiatic cousins. The longest African lion measured around 10 feet (310 cm) from nose to tail tip “between pegs”. Mane African lions DO have larger manes than those from India, but again, it depend of the region. For example, some lions in Africa have smaller manes than some males in India, while the manes of some captive Indian lions are as large as those of the supposed pure Barbary lions that still live in some zoos. Skin fold Other than the male's sparse mane, the most distinguishing characteristic of the Asiatic lion is a longitudinal fold of skin that runs along the belly. This trait is found in all Asiatic lions and very rarely in the African lions. Interestingly, those from the West-Central Africa region and the Barbary lions DO have the same belly fold. Skull Most of the Indian lions DO have the bifurcated infraorbital foramina in the skull while only very very few African lions have it. However, the Barbary lions, the Bengal tigers and even some Cave lions have it too. The skulls of the African lions are larger than those from India.
What about the point MALE SOCIABILITY ? Is it true Asiatic Lions do not live in Prides ?
It is true. Male lions from India do not live in prides. In fact, the largest group of females recorded is of 11 specimens (the mean is of 2 or 3 females), but only two, maybe up to three males are been recorded togheter. This is from the document of Meena (2009):
 *This image is copyright of its original author Besides, it seems that Indian lions are not territorials in the strictest sense. Check this out:  *This image is copyright of its original author
 (05-14-2014, 10:59 AM)'sanjay' Wrote: What about the point MALE SOCIABILITY ? Is it true Asiatic Lions do not live in Prides ? Gir lions are still "social" and males do form coalitions at times. The pride size is far smaller and this probably has to do with the terrain. You must stalk and surprise when hunting prey in India, in the open plains of africa you run prey down (for a lion) so the need for a larger pride is much more. A large pride makes more noise, gives off more smell, all of which will alert prey that are in a dense brush compared to open plains where it is dirt and lions can tred sound free. 
This thread, so it seems, is about lion evolution. I propose to post anything related to lion evolution here. There's one request. If you post info, try to avoid info from popular sites. The reason is the info on body dimensions, weight and skulls often isn't accurate, if not outright incorrect. We want to go for accuracy whenever possible. Thanks in advance.
 
I wonder what the genetic makeup of this captive Moroccan lion at Parc Sindibad in Casablanca is like. Its mane is good enough to make it look like a Barbary lion: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Le_lion.jpg
 *This image is copyright of its original author Interestingly, it was on a flight from Dakar (now the capital of Senegal) to Casablanca in 1925 that Marcelin Flandrin took the last known photo of a wild Atlas lion: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article...ne.0060174  *This image is copyright of its original author
May be one day, after gir lion extinction, these Barbary captive ones/west african lions can be shifted again to Raj, Madhya and Guj like cheetah reintroduction.
(01-10-2020, 09:14 PM)Hello Wrote: Largest Asiatic named Mohan from Helsinki zoo,I read somewhere in a thread that he was weighed at 220 kgs in his prime I asked from the zoo about his weight. Veterinarian from there said, that Mohan was approximately 220 kg in his prime. He was weighed when he died, but I´m not sure if that 220 kg was based on earlier weighing or was it an educated estimation. But I have to say, that when you write, that you estimate some weights, you are making just wild guesses, aren´t you? I mean, to what do you base your estimations in this thread for instance? We all know how impossible it´s to make estimations of weight from photos, you have made before mistakes like 50 kg more or less, that should make you more careful, imo. I don´t want to be mean, but I do find it really odd to see your estimations without any reasoning, to what and how you compare. For instance when I see photo of Aslan and Mohan, I couldn´t say which one is heavier. I just know it because there is information available. Same thing with many other lions and tigers, some just look more robust than others, but when not side by side, no idea which one really is bigger, when looking different photos with lone tiger. (01-10-2020, 09:33 PM)Shadow Wrote:(01-10-2020, 09:14 PM)Hello Wrote: Largest Asiatic named Mohan from Helsinki zoo,I read somewhere in a thread that he was weighed at 220 kgs in his prime I estimate on the basis of visibility of ribs and pelvic girth.Sometime its very hard to estimate based on pictures due to angle variations |
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