Lion

The Lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae. Many who have lion fursonas today originally came from the The Lion King fandom before joining the furry fandom, whilst others are simply inspired by the movie.

Lions are predatory carnivores who live in family groups, called prides, consisting of related females, their cubs of both sexes, and one or more unrelated males who mate with the adult females. Male lions within the pride form a coalition. The females do the hunting for the pride while the males are largely occupied with maintaining the borders of their territory.

Mating behavior
Lions are one of the most sexually active cats, another popular reason for choosing lion fursonas. During a female's oestrus cycle, a male and female will mate unabated for 5-7 days every 10 to 20 minutes. However, it takes 6-9 oestrus cycles for the female to become pregnant.

Sub-species
There are several subspecies of lion, most of which once existed or currently exist on the continent of Africa. The Asiatic Lion, or Panthera leo persica lives in present-day Gir Forest region of India. The remaining subspecies of lion, along with their scientific names and habitat, are the following:


 * Panthera leo azandica - North East Congo lion[[Image:African_Lion_Female.jpg|thumb|120|right|An African lioness (Panthera leo krugeri)]]
 * Panthera leo bleyenberghi - Katanga lion
 * Panthera leo hollisteri - Congo lion
 * Panthera leo krugeri - South African lion
 * White lion (mutation of Kruger subspecies)
 * Panthera leo leo - Barbary lion (Morocco to Egypt); Extinct in 1922.
 * Panthera leo massaicus - Masai lion or Serengeti lion or a subspecies of Masai lion
 * Panthera leo melanochaita - Cape lion; Extinct in 1860.
 * Panthera leo nubica - East African lion or Masai lion
 * Panthera leo persica - The Asiatic lion
 * Panthera leo roosevelti - Abyssinian lion
 * Panthera leo senegalensis - West African lion, or Senegal lion
 * Panthera leo somaliensis - Somali lion
 * Panthera leo verneyi - Kalahari lion

Barbary lions were the largest of the lion sub-species, and were kept by Roman emperors - who ordered the capture of literally thousands of individuals to fight in the gladiator arenas.

Despite its popular moniker of "King of the Jungle" which is more appropriate to the Asiatic lion, the African lion is an animal of the open plains. As a result, it has been the target of extensive poaching and is now a threatened species with significant populations being limited to national parks in Tanzania and South Africa, as well as the Gir Forest.