by Greg Mayer The Milwaukee County Zoo has a magnificent pair of African lions. The male has the sort of large, flaring mane that most of us associate with lions (but which is, in fact, subject to much individual and geographic variation; Asiatic lions, for example, have smaller manes). The female is lithe and muscular; […]
by Greg Mayer Spotted lions, semi-mythical beasts and the subject of cryptozoological inquiry, have been discussed here at WEIT before, but the spotted lions here are not mythical at all, because they are cubs. Lion cubs, as we’ve also discussed before here at WEIT, are born spotted, and retain some spots for up to two […]
by Greg Mayer One of the most enigmatic of the felids is the spotted lion. Indeed, it’s so enigmatic that it might, in some senses, be said to not even exist. As you may recall from Jerry’s earlier posting of a video of lion cubs, lions are born with spots, which disappear as they mature. […]
by Greg Mayer These two lions are father and son. The son is 23 months old. Note that at 23 months, the cub is nearly as big as his father, and has lost most, if not all, of the juvenile spotting earlier noted by Jerry. In the full size photo, there’s the slightest hint of […]
We have some Tuesday felids because this video, taken at the Tulsa zoo, demonstrates an evolutionary lesson. Look closely at the cubs’ coats, and you’ll see leopard-like rosettes. Many species of cats show this pattern in the cubs, even if the pattern disappears with growth. It almost certainly reflects (as discussed in WEIT), an atavistic […]
by Greg Mayer Since you can never have too many felids, here’s a brief video of the lions at the Racine Zoo today.
by Greg Mayer Until Jerry settles back in there’ll be a bit of overlap in our posting, so I’m providing this Caturday’s felid. Actually it’s two felids: the lion and the tiger (both of these links come from a wonderful page maintained by Virginia Hayssen of Smith College), both photographed today at the Racine Zoo […]
