Latin name: Panthera leo

A Furry Crown!

• It owes its King of the Jungle title to the 16 cm thick mane that surrounds its head like a crown. Males with impressive and dark manes project an image of strength and vigor to females.

• As with the domestic cat, the lion has a rough tongue that is used to clean the bones of its preys.

• The tail ends in a tuft of dark hair. This tuft of hair conceals a hard spur, 6 to 12 mm long, in the shape of a claw. Some say that lions use this spur to get a better grip on their prey.

• It is often called a "man-eater" while in fact, attacks on humans are very rare. Some cases have been observed at the end of the 19th Century and have marked our imagination.

• The world population is declining due to the diminution of prey populations, the loss of habitat and intensive hunting. This killing is often done in order to protect livestock, poaching and sport (trophy).