Lion Head Sketch

The lion (Panthera leo, obsolete/poetic/dialectal Leu) is the second largest species in the cat family after the tiger. Today it is only found in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and in the Indian state of Gujarat; in Africa it is the largest land predator. A characteristic feature of adult males is a mane. Unlike other cats, lions live in prides. Among other things, lions exhibit marked sexual dimorphism in terms of body size: Males are larger and heavier on average, reaching head-torso lengths of about 170 to 250 centimeters and weights of 150 to 250 kilograms.

However, head-torso lengths of 250 centimeters are not reliably attested from present-day lions, but they fit the largest lion forms of the Pleistocene, such as the American lion. Females reach head-torso lengths of about 122 to 192 centimeters and weigh mostly 110 to 192 kilograms (see table). On average, lions tower over tigers in shoulder height, but lions have a slightly shorter average head-torso length. The largest lions today live in southern Africa, the smallest in Asia.

Already the ice-age hunters in the Aurignacian cultural stage depicted lions more than 30,000 years ago. One of the most impressive works of art from that time, which is also one of the oldest surviving sculptures of mankind, is the figure of the so-called Lion Man, carved from mammoth ivory and almost 30 centimeters high, with the body of a human and the head of a cave lion; it was discovered in the cave Hohlenstein-Stadel in Baden-Württemberg and may have embodied a deity. From ancient Babylonian times comes the bronze sculpture of the lion of Mari.