African and Asian Lions (Panthera leo) Fact Sheet: Taxonomy & History

Taxonomy

• African and Asian populations considered a single species (Bertola et al. 2016)
• Kitchener et al. (2017) revised lion subspecies
  • Panthera leo leo
    • Panthera leo persica now synomyous with P. l. leo
  • Panthera leo melanochaita — southern and East Africa
    • Considered locally extinct until recently
    • In 2017, discovery that southern and East Africa lions are closely related
• Taxonomic nomenclature under review by IUCN
  • Bertola et al. (2016) propose six major groups, based on mtDNA evidence:
    • Northern group: West Africa, Central Africa, India
    • Southern group: North East Africa, East/Southern, South West
  • IUCN cites Bertola et al. (2015), who propose 2 groups of 4 genetically distinct clusters (based on mtDNA and autosomal DNA):
    • Northern group: [1] West/Central Africa and [2] India
      • West/Central populations small and isolated (Bertola et al. 2011; Bertola et al. 2015; Bertola et al. 2016; Bauer et al. 2016)
        • Relatedness to India population may be explained by hyperarid conditions during Holocene glacial periods (Bertola et al. 2011)
    • Southern group: [3] East Africa and [4] southern Africa
    • Split within Africa (between West/Central and East/Southern) also observed in numerous other savannah mammals (Bertola et al. 2016)
      • May be explained by climate-driven expansions of African rain forest and desert, which affected dispersal patterns of many species
  • Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN/SSC’s Cat Specialist Group has provisionally proposed a different split based on Bertola et al. (2015)
    • P. l. leo – North Africa/Asia, West Africa, Central Africa
      • Asian lions nested within diversity of African lions (Barnett et al. 2014; Bertola et al. 2016)
    • P. l. melanochaita – South and East Africa
• Previously, two subspecies of extant lion, Panthera leo, "traditionally" recognized (Mazák 2010; Bertola et al. 2015; Bertola et al. 2016)
  • P. l. leo
    • Sub-Saharan Africa [African subpopulations]
    • Lions from North Africa (currently extinct) more closely related (genetically) to lions in Asia
  • P. l. persica
    • Single population in the Gir Forest of India
• Traditional split between “African” and “Asian” lions as distinct subspecies may be untenable (Barnett et al. 2014; Bertola et al. 2015; Bertola et al. 2016)
  • Does not fully reflect lion genetic diversity (Bertola et al. 2011)
• Previous taxonomies have recognized six or more subgroups of lion (Shoemaker and Pfaff 1997; Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)  
  • Mainly used as “handy labels” to describe geographic variation
  • P. l. azandica (J.A. Allen 1924)
    • Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • P. l. bleyenberghi (Lönnberg 1914)
    • Southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Angola
  • P. l. krugeri (Roberts 1929)
    • Northwestern (Kalahari), north and southeastern South Africa
  • P. l. nubica (de Blainville 1843)
    • Known as the East African lion
    • Northeastern and East Africa
    • Proposed races: massaica, somaliensis, and roosevelti
  • P. l. senegalensis (Meyer 1826)
    • West Africa, east to the Central African Republic
  • P. l. persica (Meyer 1826)
    • Known as the Asian lion
    • Restricted to the Gir Forest, India
    • In the 19^th century, ranged from Iraq to central India

Nomenclature

• Genus: Panthera (Oken 1816) (Merriam-Webster Dictionary online; Oxford English Dictionary online)
  • Greek pan- meaning “all” and thēr meaning “prey”; otherwise translated as a “predator of all animals (or beasts)”
  • Classical Latin panthera is derived from the Greek
• Species: leo (Linnaeus 1758)
  • Literally, Latin for “lion” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary online)

Synonyms (Bauer et al. 2016)

• Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common names (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009; Bauer et al. 2016)

• Lion, African lion, Asiatic lion, Indian Lion (English)
• Lion d'Afrique, Lion d’Asie (French)
• Löwe (German)
• León, león asiático, león indostánico (Spanish)

African names for lion are numerous

• Simba (Swahili)
• Shumba (Shona)
• Ingonyama (Xhosa, Zulu)
• o-lɛ́mbáláŋ, ɔl-ŋárurúmi, etc. (Maa) (Maa Dictionary  2008)
• Tau (Sotho)
• Zaki (Hausa) (Perkins 2016)
• Names derived from the Persian word for lion, shir (India) (Rangarajan 2013)
  • See The Story of Asia’s Lions, p. 226 (Divyabhanusinh 2005)

Other phrases of interest (Schaller 1972, Perkins 2016)

• “A pride of lions”
  • Originates from the 15th century
  • Not commonly used until the 1930s
•  “The king of beasts"
  • Nicknamed for the distinctive mane of males and the lion's ecological role as an apex predator
  • The larger, more powerful tiger was not known to Europeans when they first encountered lions
• "The king of the jungle”
  • Even though lions do not live in jungle habitat

Species diversity of cats

• About 38 modern (extant) species, family Felidae (Davis et al. 2010)
  • Nearly all endangered or threatened
    • Among the most threatened groups of mammals (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)
  • Represents a small subset of fossil cat diversity (Werdelin 2013)
• Two main groups (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009; Werdelin 2013)
  • Pantherinae or “big cats”
    • About 7 species
    • Genera
      • Panthera (only present in Africa)
        • Lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, snow leopard
        • Often called “roaring cats” (Werdelin 2013)
      • Neofelis (only present in Asia)
        • Clouded leopards
          • 2 species
  • Felinae or “small cats”
    • About 31 species
    • Genera: Pardofelis, Catopuma, Leptailurus, Profelis, Caracal, Leopardus, Lynx, Acinonyx, Puma, Otocolobus, Prionailurus, Felis

Diversification of modern cats (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)

• Divergence from other carnivores (O'Brien and Johnson 2005; O'Brien and Johnson 2007)
  • Ca. 55 mya: first felid diverged from a carnivorous, common ancestor shared with canids
• Emergence of modern felid groups (O'Brien and Johnson 2005; O'Brien and Johnson 2007)
  • 10-11 mya in Asia
    • Common ancestor of all modern felid groups
• Divergence of modern pantherine cats (roaring cats and clouded leopards)
  • Panthera and Neofelis form a monophyletic group (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)
    • Common ancestor 6 mya
  • Clouded leopards (Neofelis) diverged early in the pantherine lineage (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)
  • Great cats (Panthera) emerged 2-5 mya during the late Pliocene (Davis et al. 2010; Werdelin and Dehghani 2011)
  • Rapid radiation within the Pliocene (Davis et al. 2010)
• Divergence of lions, leopards, and jaguars (Davis et al. 2010; Jackson 2010)
  • Ca. 2 mya from a shared common ancestor
  • Monophyletic group
• Origins of lions (Barnett et al. 2006; Barnett et al. 2014)
  • Sub-Saharan Africa, possibly eastern-southern Africa
  • North and West African populations diverged ca. 51,000 years ago
  • Possibly two separate excursions into Asia by lions from North Africa
    • Initially, near end of the Pleistocene, ca. 21,000 years ago

What scientists use to determine evolutionary relationships in modern cats (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009, except as noted)

• Today, combined morphological and molecular studies used to construct subspecies
  • Skull measurements (craniometrics) (e.g., Christiansen and Harris 2009; Mazák 2010)
• Historically, anatomical and morphological traits
  • Used exclusively through most of the 20^th century
  • Formerly thought that presence or absence of an elastic hyoid ligament, below the tongue, determined group
    • Was formerly thought to affect a species' ability to roar or purr
    • Not used today
      • Learned that some big cats not able to roar, although elastic hyoid  is present
      • Ability to roar and purr instead determined by structure of vocal folds within the larynx
  • Additional trait used: atypical claw anatomy of the cheetah
• Molecular/genetic analyses
  • Began towards the end of the 20^th century; used today as the scientific standard
  • Compare mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellites
  • Molecular clock dating: mutation rates used to examine divergences among species (e.g., Davis et al. 2010)

History

• Lions associated with kings and royal power in many cultures (Guggisberg 1963; Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
  • Dates back millennia
  • Persia, Assyria, Egypt, various societies of Africa
  • Represent power, courage, and dignity
• Admired and tamed, but also hunted (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
  • For sport
  • For spectacle
  • To increase human safety
• Ritualized lion hunts (Guggisberg 1963; Divyabhanusinh 2005)
  • Assyria
  • Egypt
  • Kings fought lions on foot (with swords and arm padding), using nets, from chariots, and from specially trained horses
  • Commissioned artworks to depict their lion fights
• Sometimes caught lions in traps or bred in managed care for the purpose of early ‘canned hunts’ (Guggisberg 1963; Divyabhanusinh 2005)
• Thousands of lions killed in arenas by Romans as public spectacle (Schaller 1972; Jackson 2010)
  • 1^st-4^th century AD
  • Lions shipped to cities from Africa
  • Fought gladiators and criminals
    • Punishment called “condemnation to the wild beasts”
• Lions kept as pets, in various capacities, until recent times (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
  • By Egyptian pharaohs to (Schaller 1972; Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
    • Guard their throne
    • Accompany them into battle
    • Be companions
  • Some queens also kept lions
    • Ex. Queen T’amar of Georgia (reign 1184-1212)
  • Iraq
    • As recently the 1910s
• Lions featured in numerous medieval books and art works (Jackson 2010)
• Significant in many religions (Jackson 2010, and as noted)
  • Buddhism
    • Associated with Siddhartha, the Buddha; his teachings and disciples
    • Lions depicted as
      • Bodhisattvas
        • Symbolize wisdom and enlightenment
      • Protectors of people meditating
  • Christianity
    • Negative references: devil, hell, torment, uncontrollable drives
    • Positive references: Breath of Life, resurrection, harmony, peace
    • Representations
      • Mane as halo
      • “Winged lions” (e.g., St. Mark)
      • Lion and the lamb (New Testament)
      • As a powerful animal (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
        • Appear in stories of Samson, Daniel and King Darius, Ezekiel, etc.
  • Islam
    • Lions associated with ascent to Heaven, realms of heaven, and angels
  • Hebrew Bible
    • Over 200 passages refer to lions
    • Symbol of Messianic promise and redemption
• Cultures and empires
  • Ancient Egypt
    • Lion deities associated with the sun, flood waters, maternity, fertility, war, hunting, concepts of “yesterday” and “tomorrow” (Leach 1984; Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
    • Lion cults in some cities (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
      • Captive lions held in temples and worshiped
      • Priests use in performing rituals
      • Honored, treated as sacred
        • Also hunted
  • Persia and Arabia (Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
    • Lion constellations
      • “Leo”
        • Indentified by Sumerian astronomers over 4,000 years ago
    • Lions hunted extensively
    • Body parts used in traditional medicine

Symbolism, culture, and folklore

• Lions: symbolic representations (Guggisberg 1963; Leach 1984; Divyabhanushinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
  • Power and strength
  • “The hunter”
  • “The guardian”
  • Courage, bravery
    • Ex. “Richard the Lionheart”
  • Dignity
  • Nobility
  • Peace and good luck
  • Wisdom
  • Motherhood, maternity, fertility
  • The sun
  • Water
    • Associated with flood waters and the Nile River
  • The harvest
    • Lion = medieval zodiac sign of July (summer harvest)
  • A reincarnation of dead ancestors or tribal leaders; supernatural spirit
  • Messiahs, liberation, and purification
    • Ex. ‘Lion of Judah’
  • Justice and mercy (Triumph of Reason over Chaos)
    • Pliny the Elder describes lions as showing compassion
• Male lions more often depicted than female lions (Jackson 2010)
  • Avoid confusion with other cats
  • Symbols of male heroes and kings
• Features attributed in folk stories (Leach 1984)
  • Noble
    • In European stories (though not in all cultures)
    • Lion and the Mouse
      • One of Aesop’s fables
      • Lion captures mouse, but generously lets it go. Later, when trapped by hunters, the grateful mouse sets the lion free by chewing through the ropes binding the lion.
  • Guardians or helpful animals (e.g., lion leads lost characters out of forest)
  • The animal duped by trickster animals, such as Hare, Mongoose, or Jackal
    • Lion’s status as “king” or “royal” challenged
  • Tender animals
    • Gentleness with virgins
• Other representations (Jackson 2010)
  • “The Cowardly Lion”
    • Derived from centuries-old heraldic symbolism of a lion with its tail tucked between its legs
    • Inspired “Lion” character in The Wizard of Oz (1900) by L. Frank Baum
  •  “The Lazy Lion”
    • Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871)
    • Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote (1605)
      • Don Quixote tries to fight a lion to prove his bravery, but the lion is too lazy to leave its cage
  • “The Friendly Lion”
    • People motivated to develop relationships with predators, despite an instinctual fear of them
    • Elsa in Born Free (1960)
    • Fable of Androcles (1^st century)
      • Escaped slave and criminal Androcles takes refuge in a lion’s den
        • Removes a thorn from a lion’s paw
        • Both later captured, but their friendship saves them
    • Featured in biographies of several Christian holy men and women (Jackson 2010)
      • St. Macarious
      • St. Mary of Egypt
      • St. Jerome and Gerasimos
• Lion hunters of legend (Guggisberg 1963; Jackson 2010)
  • Hercules and the Nemean lion (Greece)
  • Samson (Palestine)
  • Dumizi-Tamuz (Mesopotamia)
  • Heroes in the Shahnama (Book of Kings) (Iran)
  • Gawain (nephew of King Arthur) (England)
  • Lancelot (England)
  • “Legendary” American figures, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway (United States)
• Stories of alliances between lions and legendary heroes (Jackson 2010)
  • Many from medieval Europe
  • Emperor Cassidorous
  • Percival
  • Guy of Warwick
  • Octavian
• Admired by many African peoples
  • Celebrated in African stories, proverbs, and dances
  • Lion worship rare outside the Nile River Delta (Jackson 2010)
    • “Surprising, since the lion is indigenous to Africa and an essential element of African folklore” (Jackson 2010)
• Maasai culture
  • Chiefs said to be reincarnated as lions (Guggisberg 1963; Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)
  • Masaai warriors once required to hunt a lion to demonstrate strength and ‘manhood’ (Ikanda and Packer 2008; Wilson and Mittermeier 2009)
    • Warriors called Morani or Moran
    • Ritual called ámayio or ol-amayu (Spencer 1988; Maa Dictionary 2008; Ikanda and Packer 2008; Hazzah et al. 2009)
    • Morani would encourage a lion to attack them, impaling it on a spear
      • Work together as a group (Spencer 1988)
        • Moral principles of courage and altruism amongst hunters
      • Mane prized as a trophy (Spencer 1988)
        • If large enough, would be shared
        • Displayed prominently in the village
        • During ceremonies, worn as headdress
    • Ritual banned in the 1970s (Ikanda and Packer 2008)
      • Still practiced covertly
• Some native African hunters would follow a pride and later chase away the lions, stealing the pride’s kill (Guggisberg 1963)
  • Protected lions from sport hunters
• Lion dances (Guggisberg 1963; Jackson 2010)
  • Historically performed throughout Africa, where people encounter lions
  • Associated with the hunt, rituals of fertility, or rituals of male puberty
  • Some dances mimicked a hunt
    • Participants dressed up as lions and those the lion attacks
  • Lions prominent in Chinese celebrations, though lions not native to China
    • Originated in China over 1,000 years ago
    • Dancers sometime mimic naturalistic lion behaviors, such as rubbing and smelling
• Lion body parts in rituals, witchcraft, or as charms/talismans (Guggisberg 1963; Leach 1984)
  • African and European cultures
  • Manes, claws, teeth, bezoar stones from the stomach, etc.
  • Eating parts of a lion believed to have health benefits
    • Heart for courage
    • Eyes for better eyesight
    • Ears for better hearing
    • Lionskin to cure hemorrhoids
  • Fats used in some burial rituals and for courage during hunts
  • Occasionally, tame lions were toured about to excise people’s evil spirits (see p. 276-277 of Guggisberg 1963)
• Also see: Cultural depictions of lions

Films and performace art

• Documentary films (selected titles)
  • India’s Wandering Lions (Nature) – 2016, PBS
    • People in India safeguard lions from extinction
  • Blood Lions – 2015, Regulus Vision and Wildlands
    • Examines the practice and economics of breeding and releasing captive lions for “canned hunts”
  • Lion Ark – 2013, ADI Films
    • 25 lions rescued from illegal traveling circuses
  • The Last Lions – 2011, National Geographic
    • Survival story of lioness Ma di Tau and her cubs
  • Superpride – 2009, National Geographic
    • Features the Serengeti Wildlife Refuge, home of 300 prides
  • Relentless Enemies – 2007, National Geographic
    • Lions of Tsavo prey upon water buffalo
  • Africa's Wildlife: Lions – 2007, National Geographic
    • Lions in Botswana defend territory
    • Lions in Zimbabwe aggregate at an African water hole
  • The Vanishing Lions – 2006, Season 24 of Nature on PBS
    • Explores the decline of Africa’s lion populations
  • Eternal Enemies: lions and hyenas – 2005, National Geographic
    • Territorial conflicts between two top predators
    • Night footage
    • Mother lion encounters cobra
  • Lions of Darkness – 2008, National Geographic
    • Growing lion pride in Botswana searches for prey
  • True Life Adventures: the African lion – 1955, Walt Disney
    • Lions on the Serengeti plains
• Films and movie trivia
  • “Leo the Lion”
    • Mascot for Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) studios
  • The Lion King – 1994, Disney
    • Animated coming-of-age story of lion cub, Simba
      • “Simba” is a Swahili word for lion
    • While making the film, Disney animators visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park for inspiration (Scott 2016)
    • Earned $783.8 million at the box office (Jackson 2010)
  • The Ghost and the Darkness – 1996, Constellation and Douglas/Reuther
    • Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer set out to build a railway, but instead battle man-eating lions in this fictionalized account of the man-eating lions of Tsavo
    • This film’s predecessor was Bwana Devil (1952) (see below)
  • Born Free – 1966, Columbia Pictures (Jackson 2010)
    • Idyllic portrayal of the true story of George and Joy Adamson and their relationship with Elsa the Lion
    • Based on Joy Adamson’s best-selling book
      • Translated into 25 languages within months of publication
      • Some proceeds used to found a conservation trust, The Born Free Foundation
  • Clarence the Cross-eyed Lion – 1965, MGM
    • Quirky tale of how a veterinarian’s daughter adopts a visually-challenged lion
  • The Wizard of Oz – 1939, MGM
    • Based on the book by L. Frank Baum (1900)
    • Dorothy befriends Lion, as he searches the Land of Oz for some courage
      • Represents quintessential ‘Lion Coward’ motif (Jackson 2010)
        • Derived from centuries-old heraldic symbolism of a cowardly lion with its tail tucked between its legs
  • Bwana Devil – 1952, Miller (Turner Classic Movies)
    • True story of two man-eating lions that cause panic during the construction of an African railroad
      • Based on Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson’s book, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo (1907)
    • First movie to be filmed in color and 3-D
      • Sparked a 3-D movie craze in the 1950s
• Performance
  • Leonardo da Vinci creates mechanical lions for various rulers (Jackson 2010)
    • 15^th century
    • None of these inventions survive
  • Circus performers and “lion tamers” (Jackson 2010)
    • Carl Hagenbeck (d. 1913)
      • Introduced innovations to lion taming
        • Working with lions in wide arenas rather than small cages
        • Training without excessive force
      • Lions he trained did incredible acts
        • Rode horses and bicycles
        • Played on a seesaw
        • Allowed dogs to jump over them
      • Entertained at least a million people at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
    • Other famous lion trainers
      • Issac Van Amburgh (d. 1865)
        • Queen Victoria loved his act; saw it 6 times in one month (in 1839)
        • One of the first performers to put his head inside a lion’s mouth
      • Claire Heliot (1866-1953) (born Clara Pleβke)
        • Physically strong
        • Journalists emphasized her feminine qualities
      • Mademoiselle Adgie
        • One of her male lions, Teddy, said to have killed her assistant and lover out of jealousy
      • Captain Bonavita (b. 1866-d. 1917) (born Jack Genter)
        • Famous for his “Old Armchair” routine
          • Lions sat in a pyramid, while he sat serenely in the center, reading a newspaper
        • Later in life, drew even larger crowds as a one-armed lion tamer
  • Broadway’s The Lion King
    • Play retells Disney’s popular animated film

Books

• Research/memoirs/biographies
  • Lions in the Balance: Maneaters, Manes, and Men with Guns – Craig Packer, 2015
    • Renowned lion biologist Craig Packer shares his knowledge and hopes for the big cat’s conservation and management
  • A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond Between Two Friends and a Lion – Rendall and Bourke, republished 2009
    • True story of how two Australian travelers purchase a lion cub from a British pet store, live in London as the cub grows, and steadfastly work to return Christian the Lion to the wild
    • Book made into two films
  • George Adamson: Lord of the Lions – Sandy Gall, 1991
    • Biography of George and Joy Adamson
  • The Marsh Lions: The Story of an African Pride – Jackman and Scott, 1983
    • Brain Jackman and Johnathan Scott describe following a pride of lions for five years
    • Johnathan Scott’s blog

• Children's books (selected titles)
  • African Animals: Lions – Ipcizade, 2010
    • Discusses lion habitat, prey, and behavior
  • The Lion and the Mouse – Pinkney, 2009
    • Wordless adaptation of Aesop’s fable
    • Illustrations by award-winning illustrator Jerry Pinkney
  • Randy’s Dandy Lions – Bill Peet, 1964
    • “Five talented lions suffer from stage fright and are unable to perform their circus act. So a new lion-tamer is hired.” (Melvyl Libraries’ summary)
  • The Tawny, Scrawny Lion – Jackson and Tenggren, 1952
    • Lion meets Rabbit, who cooks delicious (vegetarian) carrot stew
    • Motifs: peace, Hare as trickster animal
• Poetry
  • Lions – Sandra McPherson
  • The Epic of the Lion – Victor Hugo
  • The Lion for Real – Allen Ginsberg

Art

• Cave paintings in southwest France, Spain (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009), and Europe (Guggisberg 1963)
  • Ca. 30,000 years old
  • Likely hold ritualistic and mystic importance
  • Cave names: Chauvet, Labastide, Combarelle, Grotte des Trois-Frères, Lascaux, Fond-de-Gaume, Laugerie Basse, Pech-Merle, Isturitz
• Lions well-represented in European and Asian art (Jackson 2010)
  • Scarce in African visual arts
    • Celebrated in African stories, proverbs, and dances
• Drawings: natural histories
  • Conrad (Konrad) Gesner (b. 1516-d. 1565), Swiss naturalist
    • Naturalistic woodcut (1617) that “depicted [the lion] for its own sake” (Guggisberg 1963)
      • Significant departure from illustrations up to that time
        • De-stressed the ferocious aspects
      • Inspired natural history books
  • Capt. William Cornwallis Harris (b. 1807-d. 1848), British officer
    • Animal portraits, including lion
• Paintings (Guggisberg 1963, except where noted)
  • Peter Paul Reubens (b. 1577-d. 1640) (Jackson 2010)
    • Sketched lions in Brussels and Antwerp menageries
  • Josef Wolf (b. 1820– d. 1899)
    • Created naturalistic lion paintings for game hunters
  • Rosa Bonheur (b. 1822-d. 1899) (Jackson 2010)
    • Famous animal painter of her day
    • Bought her own pair of lions when she tired of making repeated trips to the zoo
  • Briton Rivière (b. 1840-d. 1920)
    • The King Drinks, 1881
    • Daniel's Answer to the King, 1890
  • Richard Friese (b. 1854-d. 1918), German artist
    • Never visited Africa, but exhibited great intuition in depicting lions
    • One of Kuhnert’s teachers
  • Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (b. 1865-d. 1925), German painter
    • His favorite motif was the African lion
    • Depicted in natural landscapes, a rare approach during his time
    • Painting 1, Painting 2, Painting 3
  • John Guille Millais (b. 1865-d. 1931)
  • Arthur Radclyffe Dugmore (b. 1870-d. 1955), American naturalist and photographer
    • Significant in early wildlife photography
    • Paintings of lions in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater
• Sculpture and architecture
  • Sphinx has a lion’s body (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
    • Most famous one at Giza
  • Lions as guardians of gates, tombs, temples, shrines, palaces, public buildings, entrances (to cities, homes), etc. (Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
    • Ward off evil and enemies
    • Egyptian pyramids
    • Lion gate at Myceane (ca. 1250 BC)
  • Statuettes of lion-human figures
    • “Lion Man,” Germany
    • Ca. 32,000 years ago
  • Seals and carved bowls depict scenes of lions attacking cattle, ca. 900-600 BC (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
  • Scenes depicting confrontations between Neo-Assyrian kings and lions (Divyabhanusinh 2005)
    • Considered part of a king’s duty to protect his people and their cattle
    • Kings also hunted for sport
  • India: lion pillar at Sarnath (Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
    • Erected by Emperor Ashoka, who united India in 3^rd century BC
    • Four Asian lions stand back to back with “flehmen” facial expression (curled lip)
      • During flehmen, lion’s body becomes calm and motionless
        • May denote personal or national aspirations of peace
    • Became India’s national emblem in 1950
• Motifs on ancient coins, cups, cylinders, seals, and coats of arms (Guggisberg 1963; Divyabhanusinh 2005; Jackson 2010)
  • Gilgamesh fighting lions (originates from a 4,000 year old epic poem) 

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Felidae (Fischer de Waldheim 1817)

Subfamily: Pantherinae (Pocock 1917) - leopard, jaguar, lion, tiger, snow leopard

Genus: Panthera (Oken 1816)

Species: Panthera leo (Linnaeus 1758)

Subspecies: P. l. leo (Linnaeus 1758)

Subspecies: P. l. melanochaita (Hamilton Smith, 1842)

Sources: Bertola et al. (2016); Kitchener et al. (2017)

From the late 1800s, a depiction of a female and male lion with their cubs.

"The Lion Cubs." Plate 54 in Robert Huish's 1829 book The Wonders of the Animal Kingdom: exhibiting delineations of the most distinguished wild animals, in the various menageries of this country.

Image credit: Made available by the © Biodiversity Heritage Library via Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Morani warrior wears a lion mane headdress during a Maasai ceremony.

Image credit: © Manon van der Lit via Flickr. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the artist.

Image info: Taken October 19, 2007.

Joy Adamson's 1960 book, Born Free, not only inspired a popular film but also millions of people to care about lions.

Image credit: Pan Macmillan; from Biography.com.