Why do male lions have manes

A dark, flowing mane, according to studies. Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions mentalfloss. BY Kara Kovalchik. Castrated males, for example, lose their ability to produce testosterone and promptly lose their mane, too.

Tests revealed high levels of testosterone due to a problem in her ovaries, and once they were removed she reverted to a typical lioness. The idea that testosterone is implicated in the Botswana lionesses is also backed by observations of their reproductive success, says Kathleen Alexander at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Hunter suspects this explanation applies to the animals studied by Gilfillan and his colleagues.

And from a conservation perspective, there is nothing to suggest the pattern is increasing or will ever be anything more than a rare, local phenomenon.

No one seems to be studying the exact genetic and hormonal causes of this phenomenon at the moment. Blood samples from these lions have revealed the extent to which they are exposed to infectious diseases such as canine distemper that originated from domestic dogs in the surrounding villages. These findings have led to improved veterinary services around the Serengeti. Females typically have litters of two or three cubs.

Cubs are usually weaned by the age of eight months. Watch videos and learn more about manes. Also, lions only make a sound as they exhale rather than the continuous purring of house cats.

Lions and tigers co-existed in many parts of India until the end of the 19th century, but today Asiatic lions are restricted to the Gir Forest in Gujarat State of western India—an ecosystem without tigers.

A controversial proposal to translocate Gir lions to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh has been delayed, partly because of fears that tigers living in Kuno would kill the incoming lions. Only a few 19th century reports are available of wild lions fighting with wild tigers, and it is unclear if one species regularly defeated the other. Many fights were staged between captive lions and tigers during the first decades of the 20th century, and some of these are posted on YouTube.

Read more: Curious Kids: Why do you have to wear a helmet in space? Some studies show that female lions even prefer darker coloured manes to bigger manes. A pale mane might mean the lion is experiencing stress — for example, they might not be getting enough of the right foods or they might be feeling sick.

The dark colour seems to show that the boy lion is under less stress. In the same way that dark clothes make us hotter than white clothes would, the dark mane shows that the lion can do well in hot weather.

For instance, girl peahens tend to like boy peacocks with the biggest and showiest feather displays. Instead, we think the mane, and especially its colour, helps the boy lions show the girl lions how healthy and strong they are. Then the girl lions will know who will be a good dad for her babies.