OT totally ot

I really like Sandy's answer.

But I woinder if it is becasue the other cats do more running than the male lion?

Wikipedia does not speculate on this exactly but does offer some interesting mane info:

Great question, Taria's dd!

Mary

Howdy!

Sex.

Really, it's about sex, big cat sex. Btw, apparently lady lions prefer brunettes; I knew they were smart.

"Why do male lions have manes? The mane has often been viewed as a shield that protects a male¹s neck during fights against other males, but lions mostly attack each other on the back and hips. Instead, the size and coloration of the mane serves as a signal to other lions about the male¹s fitness, similar to the showiness of the peacock¹s tail. By conducting experiments with life-size ³dummy² lions, the Serengeti lion project determined that females prefer males with darker manes. Darker manes also take a physical toll by raising body temperatures, meaning that only the ³fittest² males can grow the most attractive manes. The length and darkness of the manes also signal information to other males about a lion¹s fighting ability."

See?

Ragmop/Sandy - prefer elephants, but only the 4-legged kind...

Howdy to you Sandy, You should have heard the discussion over replacement plugs for large extension cords at HD. The male ones seem to be over doing a lot of hanging out in the female stock bin. I guess that is how they re-stock ; )

Thanks for that info. Really what dd can't find is why don't male tigers, jaguars, etc. have manes but lion males do? I have one more free zoo pass that she is going to have to use. The keepers are always helpful. Taria

Howdy!

Sex.

Really, it's about sex, big cat sex. Btw, apparently lady lions prefer brunettes; I knew they were smart.

"Why do male lions have manes? The mane has often been viewed as a shield that protects a male¹s neck during fights against other males, but lions mostly attack each other on the back and hips. Instead, the size and coloration of the mane serves as a signal to other lions about the male¹s fitness, similar to the showiness of the peacock¹s tail. By conducting experiments with life-size ³dummy² lions, the Serengeti lion project determined that females prefer males with darker manes. Darker manes also take a physical toll by raising body temperatures, meaning that only the ³fittest² males can grow the most attractive manes. The length and darkness of the manes also signal information to other males about a lion¹s fighting ability."

See?

Ragmop/Sandy - prefer elephants, but only the 4-legged kind...