panthera+leo-Anderson

= African Lion (Panthera Leo) =


 * **Kingdom**: //Animalia//
 * **Phylum**: //Chordata//
 * **Class**: //Mammalia//
 * **Order**: //Carnivora//
 * **Family**: //Felidae//
 * **Genisis**: //Panthera//
 * **Species**: Panthera Leo

__**Who's in the family?**__ Scince Felidae means feline all the members are cats. All cats have retractable claws, except for the Ceetah. also all the members wlak on all fours and on their toes. The other members of the Panthera family include the Panther(even the pink one), the Tiger, the Snow Leopard, the Leopard, and the Jaguar.

__**How Do They...**__ Like all big cats lions walk on all fours. Also like all big cats they are Carnivores witch means they eat meat. Some of their favorite foods are wildebeest, impala, zebra, baby giraffes, buffalo, wild hogs, hares, birds, and reptiles. When food is scarce and they are desparte, lions might even eat rhinos or hippos. They eat by using thier huge jaws to rip the meat right off the bone.

__**Early Life**__ Before lions are that huge cat stalking the Savanah, they are little cubs. Thier mother gestates for 3-4 months before giving birth. Lions can have up to 4 cubs at a time. After the cubs are born they stay with thier mom for the first couple of weeks(2-3) before she shows them to the pride. The cubs start hunting at 11 months. By age two the males go off to find a new pride. The females however stay behind. The male lions can grow up to 8 feet long and 4 feet tall at the shoulders. The females can grow up to 5.5 feet long and 3.5 feet tall at the shoulders

__**Adapting**__ Over centuries the lions have had to move and change to thier environment. One of the adaptions the lions have had is thier light brown fur. originally thier fur was darker brown and thicker. Now it is light brown and thinner. Another adaptationis they got smaller. This was because the extra size was not needed. It was not needed because back when they had the extra size they didn't need to chase down thier prey as much. Now they need to keep up eith thier prey. The last adaptation that the lions have had to face is growing a darker mane than the lighter mane of thier extinct cousins the European Cave Lion.