lions in india?

[loststarshine]

I must of been seriously under a rock. Lions are native to India as well I have never heard of this before was this common knowledge for others?

[DanieMarie]

Re: lions in india?

There used to be lions in Europe, once upon a time. They were hunted out of existence sometime between the Greek and Roman eras.

So yeah, there are a few subspecies of lions living in different places. I wouldn't feel too bad about not knowing that, though. The European lion has been extinct for thousands of years and the Asiatic lion is very endangered.

[loststarshine]

Re: lions in india?

Never knew they were in Europe as well. I remember a huge debate about ligers and tigons how it was geographicaly impossible that zoos were to blame. So it is theoritcaly possible. I love cats of all species so this is a huge shock for me a pleasent one.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: lions in india?

A story I once heard was that the name for the cougar, mountain lion, came about due to a joke that the native tribesmen in the area played on the settlers. Upon seeing numerous cougars, one of the settlers commented that he was surprised that he had only sighted the females, thinking that they were like African lions, and that the males had manes. In response, his guide told him that the males were seldom, if ever, seen, as they lived high up in the mountains and were very secretive.

Yet again, indigenous peoples having a good laugh with outsiders.

[loststarshine]

Re: lions in india?

A story I once heard was that the name for the cougar, mountain lion, came about due to a joke that the native tribesmen in the area played on the settlers. Upon seeing numerous cougars, one of the settlers commented
that he was surprised that he had only sighted the females, thinking that they were like African lions, and that the males had manes. In response, his guide told him that the males were seldom, if ever, seen, as they lived high up in the mountains and were very secretive.

Yet again, indigenous peoples having a good laugh with outsiders.

that is something i could see myself doing.

[satanic witch]

Re: lions in india?

Never thought they were native to india???

[loststarshine]

Re: lions in india?

Never thought they were native to india???

The documentary I watched stated the Indian lions have different chararistics then a African lions. So perhaps they could of been brought there the documentary implied that Indian lions were native to India. Before today i was not aware they lived in the wild anywhere except for Africa.

[Rae'ya]

Re: lions in india?

I don't know that 'native' is the right word for Asiatic lions in India. The Asiatic Lion is originally from the middle east... not the far east (though India is not always considered 'far east'). They now only exist in India, but originally they lived in Persia (what is now Iran and parts of Afghanistan) and even then there is some debate over whether they migrated there from Africa and therefore aren't even 'native' to Persia. Unlike the extinct European Cave Lions, which are (were) genetically different enough that there is some debate over whether they were subspecies or a group from a separate species, Asiatic Lions are generally considered a subspecies.

[DanieMarie]

Re: lions in india?

Well, I did read that the lions in southern Europe were also likely related to African lions. The lions in southern European myths almost always had manes, which cave lions probably didn't. They also existed long after cave lions went extinct. It's hard to say, though. We don't really have hard data, as European lions went extinct a few thousand years ago.

[Rae'ya]

Re: lions in india?

Well, I did read that the lions in southern Europe were also likely related to African lions. The lions in southern European myths almost always had manes, which cave lions probably didn't. They also existed long after cave lions went extinct. It's hard to say, though. We don't really have hard data, as European lions went extinct a few thousand years ago.

The hard part about Europe (and to an extant, India) is that a lot of African lions were imported as part of menageries and fighting stock. The fossil record can tell us about prehistoric lions (although... how many people are aware that there were prehistoric lions in Sri Lanka?), but more recent history is more difficult to interpret. Did African lions migrate on their own? Did they have help via human capture and importation? Did the Asiatic Lion originate in Persia and interbreed with the African Lion or did it migrate from Africa and evolve it's differences due to environmental factors? We don't know the answers to these questions, and there are some things that even the 'experts' still can't agree on.

The other thing that most people don't realise is that African Lions are made up of several subspecies, some of which are genetically quite different to the others. So when we talk about 'African Lions', we're actually talking about a group of disparate subspecies, not a single species.

African Lion is one of my animal guides, and I find Lion species a fascinating subject. There is a great deal more to them than meets the eye.

[DanieMarie]

Re: lions in india?

The hard part about Europe (and to an extant, India) is that a lot of African lions were imported as part of menageries and fighting stock. The fossil record can tell us about prehistoric lions (although... how many people are aware that there were prehistoric lions in Sri Lanka?), but more recent history is more difficult to interpret. Did African lions migrate on their own? Did they have help via human capture and importation? Did the Asiatic Lion originate in Persia and interbreed with the African Lion or did it migrate from Africa and evolve it's differences due to environmental factors? We don't know the answers to these questions, and there are some things that even the 'experts' still can't agree on.

The other thing that most people don't realise is that African Lions are made up of several subspecies, some of which are genetically quite different to the others. So when we talk about 'African Lions', we're actually talking about a group of disparate subspecies, not a single species.

African Lion is one of my animal guides, and I find Lion species a fascinating subject. There is a great deal more to them than meets the eye.

Yeah agreed. There isn't really anything in the way of hard data. We just have art, mythology, and historians (who weren't exactly operating by modern academic standards).

[loststarshine]

Re: lions in india?

Interesting.

[DanieMarie]

Re: lions in india?

If it means anything, I just found out yesterday that there are Cheetahs in the Middle East (and previously in Asia). I had no idea!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_cheetah

[loststarshine]

Re: lions in india?

If it means anything, I just found out yesterday that there are Cheetahs in the Middle East (and previously in Asia). I had no idea!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_cheetah

Neither did I. Wow.