Why not take the lion's mane man?

A simple solution to the question of why some male lions do not have manes, or just have a few hairs around their necks: that is because they are trying to cool down.

Many theories have been put forward about the evolutionary purpose of the dense mane that always accompanies "the lord of the forest". Some scientists have surmised that they were born to appeal to their children, while protecting the lion's neck against the bouts of rival love.

But researchers at Field History Museum, Chicago (USA) said the mane or thin mane lions in Tsavo nature reserve, Kenya still gained the attention of her group.

(Photo: Reuters) When comparing lions living in the hot, wet Tsavo sanctuary with colder and colder people in the Serengeti plains, the researchers found that the male lions in Tsavo had something mane is smaller than their kind.

Some researchers have speculated that Tsavo lions have more testosterone in their bodies - explaining their unusual aggressiveness and poor mane - like this hormone that has been done for men. he bald his head.

Others explain that they may have inherited this trait from extinct European lions, whose images in the cave show a mane-free head.

There is also a theory that untreated lions in the forest prohibit Tsavo because they are malnourished, dehydrated, or torn when crept through bushes or under thorns.

Song, Thomas Gnoske and Kerbis Peterhans from the Field Museum rejected these hypotheses.

They said the males they observed in Tsavo also had manes, but grew late and grew slower, and were thinner than their congeners in Serengeti.

The small manes of Tsavo's lion did not seem to affect their mating ability, the team said. Observing that the lions lack this majestic wing is still the leader in the herd.

"We think all lions grow manes suitable to their local climate conditions," the authors write. "At some point, cooling takes precedence over other evolutionary benefits."

T. An