Lion

Taxis

Biorhythms: Cycles in the body to keep the organism functioning.

Circadian rhythms: Lions will sleep up to 20 hours a day and will be up at night to hunt.

Infra-radian rhythms: Lions do not have a breeding season but gestation period is around 110 days.

Taxis is an organisms movement towards or away from something

Intresting facts!!

Examples:

• Phototaxis: Moths movement towards light.
• Chemotaxis: Fish swimming away from chemicals.

Examples in lions:

• Trophotaxis: Lions movement towards food.
• Thermotaxis: Lions lay in the shade all day.

• Their roar can be heard up to 5 miles away.
• Used to inhabit Europe, Asia, and Africa but due to habitat loss they are only found in Africa now.
• Can leap up to 36 feet.
• The darker their manes, the older the lion is.

Work Cited

Learned Behaviors

Learned behaviors are behaviors that an organism is taught to do.

• http://www.defenders.org/african-lion/basic-facts
• http://www.lions.org/
• http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/lion/
• http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/englion.html
• http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/lion/
• https://www.worldwildlife.org/blogs/good-nature-travel/posts/ten-interesting-facts-about-lions

Examples in humans: writing, reading, speaking, and walking.

Examples in lions:

• Cubs must learn how to hunt.
• Cubs must learn how to fight/ defend.

Creating a Home and Biome/Habitat

Hunting/Foraging

Innate Behaviors

Innate behaviors is the behaviors that the animals is born with.

Lions will mostly lay and hide in tall grasses under trees for shade. However, when a female has cubs her and her cubs will live in a den under they are able to walk and learn how to hunt.

Examples in humans: Breathing and blinking.

Female lions do most of the hunting. When not hunting, lions will sleep up to 23 hours a day. Hunting is done in groups. Lions will encircle the herd of animals targeting the young or sickly and will take them down. You would assume that female lions would eat first since they killed the animal however, that is not so. Male lions will scare off the females and will eat, not only when they are done and sleeping will the females be able to eat.

Examples in lions:

• Lions prefer to hunt in the morning or evenings or when it is cold in order to preserve energy.
• Cubs will follow the mothers around.

Lions are the second largest big cats in the world. They weigh about 598 pounds. That is equal to over 37 bowling balls!

Fighting and Communication

Lions can be found in central Africa. This area consists of savanna grasslands with tall grasses and sparse trees for shade.

Hierarchy and Symbiotic Relationships

Lions live in a pride that consists of mostly female lions and one male lion. Sometimes a pride will have a few younger males but only two to three. More than one dominant male lion will cause fighting. Fighting could be over territory, food, or female lions. Lions use their roar to communicate. It scares off predators and shows dominance.

Lions have symbiotic relationships with large, hoofed animals. This relationship is predation. They also have a mutualism relationship with hyenas. Both will kill animals and feed off the animals on another kill.

Why is the reproductive system important to the lion?

Lions Digestive System

Overall Function: The function of the digestive system is to break down food molecules and absorb the energy and get rid of the waste.

Raising Offspring

Lion

The reproductive system is important to the lion because without this system the lion would not be able to repopulate. This system is the cause of courtship, mating, and fighting.

Lions have a gestation period of about 110 days and litter size will be about 3-4 cubs. The cubs will remain in a den for a few weeks and will begin hunting at 11 months; however, cubs will not leave their mothers until about 2 years of age.

Courtship and Mating

• Ovaries: Stores eggs.
• Fallopian tubes: Where the egg is fertilized by sperm.
• Uterine horn: Where uterus and fallopian tubes meet.
• Uterus: Where fetus develops.
• Cervix: Narrow canal that opens during birth to allow baby to enter the vagina and be born.
• Vagina: Envelops male's penis during intercourse.
• Vulva: External female genitalia.

Male lions display themselves by their unique manes.Each male lion's mane may range in color and size.

• Esophagus: Tube that connects throat to the stomach.
• Liver: Filters blood.
• Cardiac sphincter: Prevents back flow of materials back into the esophagus.
• Gallbladder: Stores bile, a digestive enzyme.
• Stomach: Churns food for digestion.
• Pylorus: Prevents intestinal contents from re-entering the small intestine.
• Spleen: Filters blood and helps fight bacteria.

Lions are polygamous. this means they will mate with more than one female. however, male lions are very possessive over the female during this time. There is no time when mating will occur but if the cub dies the female will go immediately back into heat.

Female

Scientific name: Panthera leo

• Pancreas: Produces digestive enzymes.
• Duodenum: Where chemical digestion takes place.
• Large intestine: Absorbs nutrients.
• Small intestine: Where 90% of digestion and absorption occurs.
• Colon: Where waste is held until ready for elimination.
• Rectum: Stores fecal matter.
• Anus: Where waste exits. Last step in the digestive system.

"The King of the Jungle"

• Testicles: Produces sperm and the male hormone, testosterone.
• Prostate gland: Secretes seminal fluid that protects and nourishes sperm.
• Scrotum: Sac that holds testicles outside of the body.
• Penis: Delivers the sperm to the vagina through urethra.
• Vas deferens: Transports mature sperm to the penis/ urethra.

Just in case you forgot what it looks like....

Male

Lion Reproductive Systems

Why is the digestive system important to the lion?

Overall function: The reproductive system's function is to transport sperm to the egg in order to produce offspring.

The digestive system is how the lion gets it nutrients and energy. Also, the digestive system eliminates waste that could potentially harm the animal. Without the digestive system the lion would not be able to get the energy it needs to survive and chase animals, raise cubs, or even do other bodily functions. This system causes the lion to hunt and eat.