The Mane

[BorneanTiger]

(03-26-2020, 01:26 AM)sik94 Wrote:

(03-20-2020, 10:41 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: @Tshokwane How is it that those studies don't support the idea that a lion's mane offers protection, when we have a number of videos showing the opposite, like this one? One of these lions at Amboseli National Park (near Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya) tried really hard to kill the other lion with a bite to the neck, but it didn't work, and this has got to be one of the strongest attempts by any big cat to try killing a lion by biting its mane that I've seen!

Not to mention that there is at least one expert who does support the notion that the lion's mane does offer protection, like Dereck Joubert?

I will try to answer it as best as possible. For one, these are coalition mates fighting over mating rights. They aren't trying to kill each other as you assumed in your scenario. You're first making the wrongful assumption that they are fighting to the death and based on that you're suggesting that the manes of these lions are what's preventing either of them from getting killed.

On the point, if manes offer protection, in the study they claim that the patterns of injuries seen in males when compared to females show no difference. Males get injuries around their face/neck area as much as females, the comparison of Tsavo lions who have relatively very small manes also yield the same result. The studies make the convincing argument that manes are more likely to be serving as indicators of the condition and dominance of an individual. The length of the mane is also telling of an animal's condition, I thought maybe a smaller mane signifies a younger opponent or an injured animal, essentially easier targets. The advantage of a huge dark mane seems to be that it will deter other lions from targeting you because it advertises to others your dominance and physical condition. It also means that a male with a huge dark mane can tolerate the heat, again showing his genetic superiority. Such male is also the first choice for any female looking to mate, because of all this a lion would father more cubs and a higher number of his offspring is likely to reach adulthood.

But what about at least 5 videos of tigers (which are supposed to have longer canines and stronger bites than lions, at least those of the Bengal subspecies) trying to get the death grips on lions, but failing to do so? Of course, due to the sensitivity of the subject, I'm not showing those videos here, but those tigers were essentially trying to do what this tigress did to the leopard, that is to get a death grip on the victim by biting its throat or neck:

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