Lion by the Bahr Dikere in Zakouma National Park in Chad
It is now generally accepted that the colour, length and overall thickness of a lion’s mane is primarily determined by the local climate though testosterone levels do also still play a part. Lions have manes to make them appear bigger and to advertise their strength and fitness to competitors but this comes at a cost, because of their large size males are prone to heat stress. At the height of the dry season Zakouma is ferociously hot, a lion with the sort of huge luxurious black mane such as you may see in the Kalahari would really suffer, as a result the males here don’t have great shaggy manes they’re generally quite short and pale in colour.
Lions are in trouble, the story from across Africa is one of decline in West Africa they are perilously close to extinction it is thought that just 400 remain with only one viable population left there. Here in Central Africa the picture is somewhat brighter with perhaps a similar number of lions surviving in the southeast of Chad alone, the last count in Zakouma revealed a population of between 140 and 150 in the park further illustrating why Zakouma is the most important protected area in this region and one of the most important in Africa.
Lion by the Bahr Dikere in Zakouma National Park in Chad
It is now generally accepted that the colour, length and overall thickness of a lion’s mane is primarily determined by the local climate though testosterone levels do also still play a part. Lions have manes to make them appear bigger and to advertise their strength and fitness to competitors but this comes at a cost, because of their large size males are prone to heat stress. At the height of the dry season Zakouma is ferociously hot, a lion with the sort of huge luxurious black mane such as you may see in the Kalahari would really suffer, as a result the males here don’t have great shaggy manes they’re generally quite short and pale in colour.
Lions are in trouble, the story from across Africa is one of decline in West Africa they are perilously close to extinction it is thought that just 400 remain with only one viable population left there. Here in Central Africa the picture is somewhat brighter with perhaps a similar number of lions surviving in the southeast of Chad alone, the last count in Zakouma revealed a population of between 140 and 150 in the park further illustrating why Zakouma is the most important protected area in this region and one of the most important in Africa.