The lion is a member of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in
the genus Panthera. With exceptionally large males exceeding
250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living
cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa
and in Asia with a critically endangered remnant population in
northwest India, having disappeared from North Africa, the Middle
East, and western Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene
(about 10,000 years ago), the lion was the most widespread large land
mammal beside humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of
Eurasia from western Europe to India, and the Bering land bridge and,
in the Americas, from the Yukon to Peru. Lions live for approximately
10–14 years in the wild, while in captivity they can live over
20 years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they
may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to
other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring
and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically
hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex
and keystone predator, although they will resort to scavenging if the
opportunity arises. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a
possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50% over the past
two decades in its African range.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1626:
Director-General of New Netherland Peter Minuit bought Manhattan
from Native Americans in exchange for trade goods valued at 60
guilders.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Minuit)
1738:
At a Moravian Church meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, John
Wesley experienced a spiritual rebirth, leading him to launch the
Methodist movement.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley)
1822:
Ecuadorian War of Independence: Troops led by Antonio José de Sucre
secured the independence of Quito from Spain at the Battle of
Pichincha.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pichincha)
1883:
New York City's Brooklyn Bridge, at the time the longest suspension
bridge in the world, was opened.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge)
1988:
Section 28 of the United Kingdom Local Government Act of 1988, an
amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote
homosexuality, was enacted, generating so much controversy that it was
eventually repealed fifteen years later.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28)
_____________________
Wiktionary's Word of the day:
pilfer: To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to
practise petty theft.
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pilfer)
_____________________
Wikiquote of the day:
Every failure is a step to success. Every detection of what is false
directs us towards what is true: every trial exhausts some tempting
form of error.
-- William Whewell
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Whewell)