Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 7, 2013

City Life: Are Mountain Lions Back on the Prowl?

Residents of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., could be forgiven for glancing over their shoulders when out for a stroll: Both cities have recently received reports of mountain lions living a whisker away from humans. It was really scary, Linda Miley told the Washington Post after seeing what she reported...

Oct 25, 2013

Lions May Be Losing Their Reign in Uganda

As the largest predator in Africa, the lion has earned its place at the top of the food chain and the title king of beasts. But the reign of the noble lion could be coming to a close in parts of Uganda, a new study suggests. One of the reasons...

Nov 27, 2013

Becoming King: Why So Few Male Lions Survive to Adulthood

OKAVANGO DELTA, BOTSWANA — It ain't easy being king. Take a look at a pride of lions, and it becomes obvious that there are more females than males, usually at a ratio of about 2- or 3-to-1. Considering that male and female lions are born in equal numbers, the question...

Nov 27, 2013

Photos: The Biggest Lions on Earth

Lions by the car (Image credit: Douglas Main)Male lions in the Okavango Delta, a lush wetland where the Okavango River collides with the Kalahari Desert, are the largest lions on Earth, said filmmaker Dereck Joubert. Dereck and his wife, Beverly, both National Geographic explorers-in-residence, made a film about how these...

Jan 8, 2014

Lions Face Extinction in West Africa

Lions in West Africa are on the brink of extinction, new research suggests. Fewer than 250 adults may be left in West Africa, and those big cats are confined to less than 1 percent of their historic range. The new study, detailed today (Jan. 8) in the journal PLOS ONE,...

Feb 5, 2014

Hugging Lions? Why Humans Are Drawn to Wild Animals

People put themselves in shark cages, go live with grizzly bears, snuggle with adult lions and even give birth alongside wild dolphins. This desire to connect with the wild seems so intense that some people risk life and limb in its pursuit. But why do people feel so drawn to...

Mar 26, 2014

Two Healthy Lions, and Their Cubs, "Zoothanized" … Why? (Op-Ed)

Marc Bekoff, emeritus professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is one of the world's pioneering cognitive ethologists, a Guggenheim Fellow, and co-founder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Bekoff's latest book is Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed(New World Library, 2013). This Op-Ed...

Oct 23, 2014

Incredible Photo of Lazing Lions Wins Wildlife Photography Contest

A stunning black-and-white photo of five lionesses relaxing with their cubs in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park has taken the top prize at the 50th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, held this week at London's Natural History Museum. The image, snapped by American photographer Michael Nichols, shows the Vumbi pride...

Jul 30, 2015

Cecil the Lion: Do Paid Hunting Permits Help Save Wildlife?

An American dentist who shot a famous 13-year-old lion, named Cecil, in Zimbabwe spent about $54,000 in permits to kill the top carnivore, according to news sources. Money from sports-hunting permits can fund protected parks that shelter wildlife and engage local communities in animal management, but does paying such exorbitant...

Aug 4, 2015

Lion 'Factory Farms,' and the Dark Side of Wildlife Tourism (Op-Ed)

Nicole Paquette is vice president of wildlife protection at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). She contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. As global outrage continues to grow over the death of Cecil, a beloved lion who was mercilessly killed outside Hwange National...

Oct 26, 2015

Lions Are Disappearing Across Africa

Lions are disappearing from most of the African continent, and the decline is especially evident in West Africa, according to new research. The lion population has has been in decline since 1992, largely because of conflicts with native herders and declines in lions' prey species, the new survey found. Almost...

Dec 21, 2015

Lions Gain New Endangered Species Protections

Two lion subspecies will now be protected by the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced today (Dec. 21). Panthera leo melanochaita, a lion subspecies living in eastern and southern Africa, will be listed as threatened, while Panthera leo leo, a subspecies found in western and...

Jan 12, 2016

Forehead Teeth? 'Deformed' Mountain Lion Puzzles Experts

A hunter recently crossed paths with a rare cat: a mountain lion with extra teeth and white whiskers on the top of its head, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported. The hunter spotted the young male mountain lion near Preston, a city in southeastern Idaho, on Dec. 30,...

Apr 21, 2016

Gay Pride? Famous Male Lions Just Hugging

The Internet was buzzing this week with interest over images that appear to show two male lions engaging in homosexual behavior. The photos and videos, shot by photographer Nicole Cambré in Botswana in March, feature two long-maned lions looking very cuddly. At one point, one lion mounts and humps the...

Nov 2, 2016

Ancient Cave Lion Cubs Found Crushed and Frozen in Russia

SALT LAKE CITY — For more than 30,000 years, northern Russia's cold permafrost has preserved the small bodies of two furry and wide-pawed cave lion cubs, one of them in almost pristine condition, a new study found. The two mummified cubs, nicknamed Uyan and Dina after the Uyandina River where...