The lion is one of the five big cats in the genus "Panthera" and a member of the family Felidae. The commonly used term African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies found in Africa. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger.
Similar species: Carnivorans
By dunlak
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Uploaded Oct 17, 2016. Captured Mar 8, 2015 05:30 in Unnamed Road, Botswana.
comments (5)
Posted 8 years ago
Happy World Lion Day!
African lions (Panthera leo) are beautiful, majestic cats that are facing some serious issues. Due to habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and trophy hunting, lion populations are in decline. There are only 1/10th the number of lions in Africa today as there were in 1975. This is a major problem because lions are apex predators and keystone species with no natural enemies. Other species in the ecosystem depend upon them. If a keystone species is removed, the entire ecosystem could collapse. How can one species matter so much? Well, if lions disappear, populations of buffalo and zebra will increase significantly. As the populations of large herbivores increase, the amount of available vegetation in these regions decreases. These herbivorous grazers would devour the grasses, turning the savannah into a desert. This will then have a severe impact on other plant-eating animals, insects, and more.
Imagine what it would be like if the African lion only existed in pictures, movies, stories, and statues. Let's not be the generation that allows this sad fate to befall this iconic species. Awareness is our purpose today with the hope of education, which will lead to conservation. #JungleDragon #WorldLionDay
https://www.facebook.com/jungledragonwildlife Posted 5 years ago