Lions in South-Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia

[peter]

Post information on this subspecies in this thread. 

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[TheLioness]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&...Krsfozz7lA

Weights are different between north and south kruger lions.


Adult females south 118.37kg vs north 143.52kg.
Adult males south 186.55kg vs north 200.01kg.

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[Pckts]

Noting comes up from your links posted. It says error when you go to the page. Reply

[TheLioness]

Sorry, don't know why it keeps doing that.

Link isn't working.

https://www.google.com/#q=200.01kg+lion

Its the first link, its a pdf file.
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[Pckts]

There are no weights given. Just a range wtih no ages or individual lion weights, wether gorged or not, health status, etc.
Thanks for sharing though but hopefully they have the actual weights so we can use them. Reply

[TheLioness]

Yeah, they must have weighed them, I've contacted them and am awaiting an email. They radio collared different lions and I am assuming they got averages, I would also assume they are adjusted, kruger park houses large lions. Reply

[Pckts]

We shall see. I never assume until confirmation is given. Reply

[TheLioness]

I got a reply back it weights from the smaller lion population in southern kruger. These lions were infected with turberculosis, the results of being infected are weight loss, swollen joints, lameness, poorly healing, skin wounds and depression.

The average weight I got out of all the animals, males - 170kg and females 115kg. There was also shoulder heights. I have asked a few questions and hope to get another reply.

Almost 90% of lions in kruger national park have this illness, they loose so much weight in such a short period of time they are prone to illnesses such as F1 virus in which causes high mortality rates.

*This image is copyright of its original author

I have the email if anyone needs further proof.
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[Pckts]

Wow those are very small weights for lions. Do you have the page where they say these lions are sick? Could you screen shot it if possible?
Thanks Reply

[TheLioness]

In the article that I had posted before the reply, that was giving us trouble is The epidemiology of tuberculosis in free-ranging lions in the Kruger National Park.

Quote:At the start of this comparative study in November 1999, 16 uninfected lions were identified in the north of the Park and clinically evaluated.  A comparable group of 16 infected lions were identified in the south of the Park and clinically evaluated.  These two groups have been monitored intensively for the past four years.  Currently there are still 8 of the original non- infected lions alive in the north of the Park, compared to 4 of the original infected southern group.  Five of the southern lions died of advanced tuberculosis.  The remaining seven died as a result of apparent social disruption in the prides after prominent members in the social hierarchy died of tuberculosis.  Of the three study prides identified in the south only one pride still exists.  In the far north all three female prides are still functional.  
The loss of mature territorial pride females and stabilizing male coalitions in the south, makes prides vulnerable to “take over” by healthy nomadic groups.  The northern population had many more old lions (another female that had been branded in 1989 eventually died this year, and 7 lions that were branded in 1993 are still alive and well).  Conversely, no lions older than 10 years could be identified in the south.  Regarding haematology and blood chemistry, northern lions had better profiles in all parameters, when compared to southern lions.  Northern adult lions are significantly heavier than their southern counterparts (Females: 118.37 kg versus 143.52 kg, males: 186.55 kg versus 200.01 kg).  The sex ratio in the south is distorted: two males for every female.  In the north it is one male for every two females.  More cubs were born in the south but were killed or evicted during subsequent take-overs.  Tenure of territorial male coalitions in the north is much longer than that of southern male coalitions.
After three years of monitoring, the continued study of the effects of tuberculosis infection on these two lion populations was unfortunately delayed as a result of defective radio transmitters and poor quality collar strapping.  These transmitters were meant to last five years, but did not live up to their advertised functional life.  This necessitated the replacement of 19 radio collars.  This was achieved during two mass capture operations: one in the south where 36 lions were captured and identified, and one in the north where 40 lions were captured and identified.  Twenty-seven radio-tracking sessions were done during the period of report

I don't think every lion in the chart is infected actually by rereading. 16 all together were infected, which would explain very small lions from the sample i.e. 121kg adult male and 88 kg adult female, compared to healthier animals such as the 201kg adult male and 138kg adult female.

I am awating his reply on which ones were infected with the desease, therefore we could get a better more accurate average on these southern kruger lions. Reply

[Pckts]

Ok, so actually no lions are specifically said to be sick. They were also monitored over a 3 years and there where as many healthy as unhealthy.

I would also like to see the lions weighed in the northern regions that gave them the 200kg #, seems high.
Anything over 155kg for a male lion is probably a decently healthy animal. Many healthy lions weigh that, and the largest animals in any area are usually in the 200kg range for lions. Obviously higher #'s are attainable by far less likely.
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[TheLioness]

Like I mentioned I do not know exactly which ones are healthy and which are sickly, some can easily be seen to be sick, however 160kg can be healthy for an adult male, however there are 6 males above 180 while there are 10 males below 180kg.

88kg for the two lionesses seems very small compared to the others. So I'll await word back on which ones we can exclude from the data and which ones to keep.

Imagine if all they could capture were the 6 males(small sample yes, but I've seen smaller) their average weight was 191.4 or a nice 421 pound average, however thats not the case, there are probably more to add to the sample, out of the other 10 males there is a few more that are proabably not infected, however the total infected were 16, and the lionesses do seem to have less fluctuation, not as many highs and lows as the males.

121kg - 201kg
88kg - 138kg

If we remove the two 88 kg lionesses(the actual amount of females is 15 not 16) 13 females averaged 119kg(262lbs.)

With a sample of 13 females and 10 males, they are a little heavier than the other average(including the sick?)

Possibly healthy south females 119kg - All south 118.37kg
Possibly healthy south males 191.4kg - All south 186.55kg

This is interesting thinking about it, while waiting on which animals were infected. I am hoping I get a chart on the north kruger lion weights, their average was 200.1kg. Reply

[Pckts]

You cannot use the largest six, because there are plenty below 190kg and not by that much. You must use all. Obviously a 7-8 year old male at 102-103kg is not healthy. But certainly any male at 160kg or so, is plenty large and there would be no reason to believe them to be sick without actual data confirming it.
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[TheLioness]

Agreed, I was just stating it would be interesting if thats the only ones they captured, not saying I'm selecting them, just would be interesting.

Be back with more info when i get it. Thanks Reply

[Pckts]

Thanks for the info. Your hard work is appreciated. Reply