EXTERNAL DESCRIPTION
The body of the lion is very muscular, with less bone mass than other animals of similar size. This is why they move with such grace. Lions are digitigrade walkers. This means they essentially walk on their toes. Extra bones in the toe joints give the toes a wide range of motion. The claws are retractible and very sharp. The body is covered with a sandy brown coat in most subspecies of lions, but there is a white variant that shows up once in a while. Mature male lions have a mane that covers the backside of the head, and the shoulders. The extent of the mane varies from individual to individual. Some lions may not have a many while others have a luxurious mane that runs onto the body, along the abdomen, and even onto the fronts of the back legs. The mane varies in color from the rest of the body, and tends to grow darker with age.
The eyes are proportionately large than other animals the same size. They posses round pupils. The eyes are well adapted use under low light. This helps the lions hunt at night. Lions eyes do not glow in the dark however, they contain a special reflective coating that will reflect even moonlight. A white circle just below the eyes help reflect light into the eyes to improve night vision even more. Lions have a limited ability to move their eyes move their eyes side-to-side and must turn their head to look in a different direction.
The lions tail is the only tail in the cat family that has a tassel at the tip. This tassel conceals the spine which is the last few tail bones fused together. It is unknown if the spine serves any purpose. The tail is very important for the lion to balance. Females also use tehir raised tail as a "follow me" signal for cubs. They also use it to signal each other during a group hunt.
The lions teeth are well adapted for killing and eating their prey. Their teeth are spaced in a way that they can slip between the cervical vertebrae of their favorite-sized prey animals, and sever the spinal cord. The back teeth are shaped in away that makes them work like a pair of scissors, for cutting pieces of meat. The jaw is not capable of moving side to side. This helps the back teeth in alignment 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 chucks. They also only use one side of their mouth at a time. The tongue is covered with rough spines, called papialle. This helps the lion scrape meat off of bones, and acts like a comb for grooming. Lions have 30 teeth total.
The average male length is 9 feet long with an average weight of 350-400 pounds. The average height is 36 inches. The average female length is 8 feet, with an average weight of 250-300 pounds. The average height is 30 inches for a female lion. Lions have a life span of 12 years in the wild, and 20 years in captivity.
The body of the lion is very muscular, with less bone mass than other animals of similar size. This is why they move with such grace. Lions are digitigrade walkers. This means they essentially walk on their toes. Extra bones in the toe joints give the toes a wide range of motion. The claws are retractible and very sharp. The body is covered with a sandy brown coat in most subspecies of lions, but there is a white variant that shows up once in a while. Mature male lions have a mane that covers the backside of the head, and the shoulders. The extent of the mane varies from individual to individual. Some lions may not have a many while others have a luxurious mane that runs onto the body, along the abdomen, and even onto the fronts of the back legs. The mane varies in color from the rest of the body, and tends to grow darker with age.
The eyes are proportionately large than other animals the same size. They posses round pupils. The eyes are well adapted use under low light. This helps the lions hunt at night. Lions eyes do not glow in the dark however, they contain a special reflective coating that will reflect even moonlight. A white circle just below the eyes help reflect light into the eyes to improve night vision even more. Lions have a limited ability to move their eyes move their eyes side-to-side and must turn their head to look in a different direction.
The lions tail is the only tail in the cat family that has a tassel at the tip. This tassel conceals the spine which is the last few tail bones fused together. It is unknown if the spine serves any purpose. The tail is very important for the lion to balance. Females also use tehir raised tail as a "follow me" signal for cubs. They also use it to signal each other during a group hunt.
The lions teeth are well adapted for killing and eating their prey. Their teeth are spaced in a way that they can slip between the cervical vertebrae of their favorite-sized prey animals, and sever the spinal cord. The back teeth are shaped in away that makes them work like a pair of scissors, for cutting pieces of meat. The jaw is not capable of moving side to side. This helps the back teeth in alignment 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 chucks. They also only use one side of their mouth at a time. The tongue is covered with rough spines, called papialle. This helps the lion scrape meat off of bones, and acts like a comb for grooming. Lions have 30 teeth total.
The average male length is 9 feet long with an average weight of 350-400 pounds. The average height is 36 inches. The average female length is 8 feet, with an average weight of 250-300 pounds. The average height is 30 inches for a female lion. Lions have a life span of 12 years in the wild, and 20 years in captivity.