Deirdre Jackson - Lion

Series editor: Jonathan Burt

Already published

Majestic, noble, brave the lion is the King of Clichs. Judging from the wealth of lore and legend accumulated over millennia, lions have occupied a greater place in peoples imaginations than any other animal. During the course of time, people and lions crossed paths; sometimes the outcome was happy, sometimes tragic, but it was generally memorable. Our preoccupation with the predator is reflected in a range of different cultures; the lion is even revered in places where it has never been indigenous. Tracking the lion is a monumental task. This is not, as the writers of the medieval bestiaries would have us believe, because it erases its spoor with its tail, but because its tracks are all too plentiful and lead from the dark forests of northern Europe across the Mesopotamian plains to the imperial palaces of China.

Although the lion is not the largest or fastest felid, its position as King of Beasts has rarely been challenged. People have been captivated by lions since Palaeolithic times and the animal, with its tawny pelage and luminous eyes, continues to beguile us. While we encroach on the shrinking habitats of the last remaining lions on earth, showing an alarming disregard for their future, our fascination with legendary lions persists. The Lion King (Walt Disney, 1994), screened worldwide, earned a staggering US$783.8 million at the box office.

Despite the animals high profile, it remains enigmatic. We know little about the earliest lions and their ancestors, and several aspects of the lions form and function remain to be explained, including the precise purpose of the mane. Moreover, hours spent by scientists observing the animal have not answered every question concerning their behaviour, including why they often hunt in groups and lead more complex social lives than any other big cat. These issues are important because the more we learn about lions, the better we can create strategies for their conservation.

In historic times, the lion could be found in Europe, southwest Asia, and throughout Africa, but its distributional range has been drastically reduced. In the last two hundred years alone, lions have been eradicated from Syria, Iraq, Iran, North Africa, much of South Africa, Pakistan and almost all of India. The vulnerable African lion (Panthera leo) is now confined to the sub-Sahara, and its critically endangered Asian cousin (P. leo persica) is found only in the Gir Sanctuary, Gujarat State, India, home to an inbred population of about 300 animals. Few books in English are devoted to the Asiatic lion, and many people remain unaware of its existence, let alone its struggle to survive. Lions are threatened by poachers, hunters and diseases, but above all by the large-scale destruction of their habitats. Preventing the complete disappearance of these exceptional animals means allowing them to share our world, and giving them room to roam.