Lions
Physical Characteristics
The lion is a member of the cat family, and shares many
common traits of this family. The body is very muscular, with
less bone mass than other animals of comparable size. This is
also responsible for the grace of
movement we associate with members of the cat family. The
forebody of the lion is very powerfully built, and has the
greatest forebody strength of any cat. This enables the lion to
deliver blows with it's forepaws heavy enough to break a zebra's
back.
Each paw is equipped with soft pads to make it's movements
quiet. The claws are retractible and very sharp. The retractable
feature helps keep the claws sharp, and prevents injury during
play, etc. The dewclaw on the front limbs is often used as a
toothpick.
The body is covered with a sandy brown coat in most
subspecies of lions, but there is a sub-Saharan species that has
a white coat. Lions with a very dark brown coat have been
observed, but this is quite rare. The mature male lion has a mane
that covers the backside of the head, and the shoulders. The
extent of the mane varies from individual to individual, with
some having no mane at all, while others have a luxurious mane
that runs onto the body and along the abdomen. The mane varies in
color from the rest of the body, and tends to grow darker with
age. Some lions in the Serengeti area have a nearly black mane.
The eyes are proportinately larger than in other
comparable-sized animals, and posess round pupils. Lions, like
most cats, are visual animals. The eyes are also well-adapted for
use under very low light. This helps the lion hunt at night.
Contrtry to popular notion, a lion's eyes do not glow in the
dark, but they contain a special reflective coating that will
reflect even moonlight.
The sense of smell is well developed. Lions mark their
territories by means of scent, which needs a good sense of smell.
This also helps them find kills made by other predators, and
perhaps obtain an easy meal by driving the other predator off
their kill. Another interesting thing that lions and all other
cats posess is a Jacobson's organ. Sometimes, you will see a
lion, or even your cat, grimace when smelling something. They are
opening their lips to draw air over their jacobson's organs. This
grimacing gesture is called Flehmen. The sense of hearing is not
better than average.
The lion's tail is the only one in the cat family with a
tassel at the tip. This tassel conceals a spine, which is the
last few tail bones fused together. The tail is very important
for overall balance.
The lion's teeth are well adapted for killing their prey and
eating it. The shape of the back teeth, which are called
carnassals instead of molars, makes them work like a pair of
scissors, for cutting pieces of meat. The jaw is not capable of
moving side-to-side, like ours. This helps keep the carnassal
teeth in alingment for cutting. The rest of the teeth are
conical, and designed for cutting and tearing. Lions do not chew
their food, but swallow it in chunks. They also use only one side
of their mouth at a time. This trait is also common to all cats,
and is caused by the inability of the jaw to move side-to-side.
The tongue is covered with rough spines. This helps the lion
scrape meat off of bones, and acts like a comb for grooming. The
digestive system of the lion is simple, not unlike a human's.
Meat is fairly easy to digest.
No physical description of the lion would be complete without
some mention being made about it's magnificent roar. Only four
cats can roar: The lion, tiger, leopard, and jaguar. Of these
cats, the lion roars the most. It is beleived the roar serves to
alert other lions of an individual's presence. Roaring choruses
of several lions, or a whole pride, also take place. Roaring is
made possible by a special two-piece hyoid bone in the throat.
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