Contact: Greg Borzo
gborzo@fieldmuseum.org
312-665-7106
Field Museum
Caption: An extensively and richly colored dark-maned male from the Equatorial Middle Elevation Plains at 1,700 meters above sea level. Older lions, like this male, who is past his reproductive prime, typically carry the densest, most extensive and often darkest manes, regardless of where they occur. The authors relied on patterns of tooth wear (as clearly seen here) to age live lions (in addition to other standard aging protocols) for their study, incorporating their extensive experience in aging lion specimens housed in museum collections.
Credit: Photograph by Harald A. Schuetz, 2001
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Related news release: Groundbreaking study by Field Museum scientists explains mane variation in lions