IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Gilfillan, G.D.; McNutt, J.W.; Vitale, J.D.T.; de Iongh, H.H.:; Golabek, K. | |
| Rare observation of the existence and masculine behaviour of maned lionesses in the Okavango Delta, Botswana | |
| 2016 African Journal of Ecology: 1-3 | |
We describe the observation of mane growth and masculinized behaviour in female lions (_Panthera leo melanochaita_) within the Okavango Delta, Botswana. African lions exhibit a relatively high degree of sexual dimorphism, with the larger males typically developing a conspicuous coat of long hair on their chest, neck and back, termed a 'mane' (Schaller, 1972). The length and darkness of a male lion's mane is thought to be driven by sexual selection pressures, with females preferentially associating with dark-maned males and male lions preferentially attacking light-maned males (West & Packer, 2002). Mane development in male lions has been the focus of much interest over the last century (Schaller, 1972; Kays & Patterson, 2002; West & Packer, 2002; Yamaguchi et al., 2004). Potential factors driving mane development in male lions are thought to include genetics, temperature, nutritional status, hormones and vegetation thickness (Kays & Patterson, 2002; West & Packer, 2002). To date, mane development has only been reported in males, and has never been formally documented in female lions. We report on a rare observation of mane development in five female lions and document specific masculinized behaviour in one of these. |
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