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Explore the farthest reaches in cutting-edge science with this three-disc DVD-R set of our Known Universe series. Episodes include The Fastest, The Most Explosive, and The Biggest & Smallest.
With stunning CGI and riveting footage, Known Universe: The Fastest explores interstellar travel, wormholes, and black holes and re-examines Einstein's theories that hint at the existence of portals that could reach through the very fabric of space and time. From exploding stars to asteroid impacts, Known Universe: The Most Explosive deconstructs some of the biggest explosions in the universe with unforgettable CGI and slow-motion footage.
Our neighborhood of planets may seem vast but compared to the size of our Milky Way galaxy, our solar system is really tiny. And our galaxy is only one of about 100 billion galaxies in the cosmos. Starting with our solar system, Known Universe: The Biggest & Smallest explores the true meaning of those words.
This DVD Exclusive is one of the many titles in our National Geographic DVD Exclusives Library and is created in the DVD-R form. This disc does not feature menu pages or special features like standard DVDs, simply the high-quality programming you've come to expect from National Geographic.
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Muscle-UP™ Powder is a premium, fast-absorbing vitamin and mineral muscle-building supplement. Contains Gamma Oryzanol, Creatine & DMG. 16 oz (2 month supply). Read More
Muscle-UP™ Powder, 16 oz
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Feed 1 tsp per day mixed with normal food ration.
16 oz (2 month supply)
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In the early 1990s, Ethiopians who had been living in refugee camps in Sudan began to return home. As Laura C. Hammond of Clark University explains, they created a new community in an unfamiliar part of Ethiopia that is thriving 12 years later.
Belonging to a diaspora entails a consciousness of, or emotional attachment to, a place of origin and its culture. Steve Vertovec of the University of Oxford explains the role diasporas play in migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries.
Asia's tsunami will have an enduring impact on diaspora groups and immigration policy, write Frank Laczko and Elizabeth Collett of the IOM.
Jeffrey H. Cohen of Pennsylvania State University outlines the migration and remittance patterns of people from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.
MPI's Kimberly Hamilton and Jennifer Yau analyze the major challenges and policy responses surrounding the migration of health care workers from developing countries.
Migrants from the Philippines and Sri Lanka have taken on a growing role in filling labor shortages in Jordan, leading to significant challenges surrounding the recruitment of these foreign workers. Based on interviews with government officials in sending and receiving countries and focus groups with migrants, the report analyzes the role of private recruitment agencies and points to oversight gaps.
Civil society provides a crucial link between governments and the communities they represent—infusing policy processes with grassroots knowledge to which governments may not otherwise have access. Looking at the European Union's efforts to engage with civil society in its "neighborhood," this report examines the benefits, challenges, and mechanisms to building dialogue and cooperation on migration and development.
The report examines U.S. immigration and international development policies, which have unique objectives and respond to distinct political and administrative constraints, and points out that international development has never been a U.S. immigration policy objective; nonetheless, it is an unintended consequence.
Migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries rarely collaborate on migration issues because the structure of global migration systems ensures they often disagree about core policy issues. This report shows that migration collaboration makes sense when states share common goals they cannot achieve on their own.
Over the past year, MPI has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to examine how diasporas contribute to – or detract from - development efforts in their countries of origin. MPI and USAID have published an edited volume of the research. Please join us for the release of the book where speakers will discuss new thinking on the role of diaspora engagement in U.S. foreign and development policy.
This edited volume examines the development impact of diasporas in six critical areas: entrepreneurship, capital markets, "nostalgia" trade and "heritage" tourism, philanthropy, volunteerism, and advocacy.
This report provides an overview of diaspora advocacy by looking at five issues: who participates in diaspora advocacy, who or what are the "targets" in these efforts, what means are used to advance these causes, what are the issues on which they focus, and the effectiveness of the efforts.
This report examines the diaspora entrepreneurs who are often motivated to contribute to job creation and economic growth in their native lands, and offers some key findings and policy options.


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One of the most distinctive styling cues for the current batch of restomods is the roller-latch fuel filler. Although commonly known as the "Le Mans" filler, because of its extensive use on race cars that ran at the legendary Euro enduro, it also appeared on many high-performance street cars from the era. Witness, for example, the legendary 500-horsepower Baldwin-Motion Phase III GT Corvette, which came standard with a written 11-second guarantee; a host of dramatic visual elements such as fender flares and fixed headlights; and, yes, the racy, dome-like Le Mans fuel filler. Also note its appearance on the AC Cobra, as well as on the stunning powder-blue '69 C3 featured in a recent BFGoodrich ad.
Initially, the Le Mans filler wasn't selected for aesthetics: It was used on race cars because it was easy--and therefore fast--to use. Simply pulling the spring-loaded latch backwards frees the lid to flip open for refueling, and closing it is as simple as smacking the cap back down. The latch automatically engages, locking it shut. There's none of the twisting and aligning of tabs that's required with ordinary gas caps.
The problem, though, has been finding a way to incorporate one into a C3 Corvette, especially considering the large gas cap of the early sharks. While the fillers have been available from suppliers of Cobra parts, fitting them involved fabricating a filler neck for the gas tank, and perhaps even (gasp) cutting fiberglass. For those who want to go this route, there's plenty of information on it online, including drawings to take to your machinist to get the parts made.
The good news is that there's now a much simpler way. R&R Specialties, located in Huntsville, Tennessee, offers a drop-in Le Mans fuel filler for both early and later sharks. While the shark filler is relatively new--I think I saw it first at the Sevierville Corvette Expo a couple years ago--R&R, which does business under the name Mustalgia, has been in the operation since the late '70s. Founded around producing Le Mans fillers for Cobra kit cars, the business grew quickly, until it was selling to 30 or 40 different companies. After years of getting requests for fillers for Grand Sports and vintage race cars, Mustalgia finally relented and began making versions for the Corvette. The kit consists of two major components--the cap with its hinged base and latch, as well as the round base that mounts to the body--and comes with the four screws needed to install it.
While the Le Mans filler is a faithful reproduction of the originals, a few things have changed since the '70s, most of them having to do with how the caps are made. Originally investment cast, the aluminum filler is now made by die casting, which is both more precise and offers a less porous end result. For those unfamiliar with the two processes, investment casting (also known as the "lost wax" method), is where the mold is used to make a wax model of the end product--here, the domed cap itself--and that wax piece is dipped into a ceramic slurry that hardens around it. When enough of the ceramic has built up, the wax is melted out--"lost"--and then the molten metal is poured in. Once the metal hardens, the ceramic is broken off of the finished product. In essence, the mold is used to make another mold that's used to make the mold that makes the part you want.
In die casting, the mold makes the part. Period. It's more expensive, but the result is higher quality. In the case of the cap, that's also because the reduced porosity lets the product be brought to a higher shine when polished. The base to which the caps mounts, meanwhile, is CNC machined from a 6-inch bar of aluminum, also nicely polished. All of the work is done in the U.S.; most of it right there in Tennessee.


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by Sujit John & Shilpa Phadnis, The Times of India
BANGALORE: In a landmark for the IT industry, maybe for most industries, IBM India has this year hired more women than men during its campus recruitment. This is significant because it's happened in an industry where mass recruitment is the norm.
Of the campus recruitments done by IBM India till June, 52% were women — a quantum leap from the 38% in 2011 and 32% in 2010. IBM doesn't disclose the numbers it hires, but large IT companies in India have hired over 30,000 people in recent years. Of these, about 70% have been campus hires.
Of the 265 engineers SAP Labs India hired this year, 42% are women, up from 34% last year. For Cisco India, the figure is 22% this year, down from last year's 25%, but significantly higher than 16% in 2010.
The significant jump in the number of women hired by leading IT firms is remarkable especially because, as IBM's recruitment leader for India Vardanahalli A Rangarajan notes, the average admission of women across engineering colleges in India is just 18%. Most companies have been working with placement cells in colleges to achieve these high numbers.
IBM says a major reason is awareness about facilities offered to women employees. "Our flexible work policies, the workfrom-home option, the ability to customize working hours are big attractions," says Kalpana Veeraraghavan, diversity manager in IBM India.
Rangarajan says IBM has many women role models, including CEO Virginia Rometty.
SAP Labs targets the few women's engineering colleges, including the Cummins Engineering College, Pune, and Meenakshi Engineering College, Chennai. It also conducts an online recruitment test for women across all engineering colleges on International Women's Day. "It's for women doing computer science and with a CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) of about 8. This year, 3,000 took the test. We flew in over 200 women to Bangalore for the final interviews, and selected 45," says Anil Warrier, director for staffing, SAP Labs.
For the past five years, Cisco has been organizing every year a programme called Girls in Technology, where about 100 engineering graduates are invited to the company's campus in Bangalore and exposed to the labs, work environment and culture.
Protima Achaya, Cisco's lead for scaling services staffing in Asia-Pacific and Japan, says flexible workhours and excellent creche facilities are big attractions . "The number of women who join Cisco after this programme has been increasing every year. Such recruits tend to stay on for long," she adds.
Accenture doesn't disclose its women recruitment numbers. However, a spokesperson told TOI: "We have exclusive campus engagement programmes for women. We have Diversity Zones, a campus event which talks about several aspects of working at Accenture. Students get an opportunity to interact with senior women leadership and young achievers, who share their experiences about working at Accenture and how they are able to manage the work-life balance."
At HCL Technologies, the overall percentage of women is almost 25, but the campus recruitment percentage is only 12. However, Srimathi Shivashankar , AVP for diversity and sustainability, says the percentage has been steadily rising and HCL has women-focused recruitment drives.
It's increasingly acknowledged that diversity at the workplace is not only good in itself, but also has a profound influence on the operations of an organization. "Numerous studies show that increasing gender equality enhances productivity and economic growth. The best ideas flourish in a diverse environment, and companies benefit from accessing female talent," Shivashankar says.
Adds IBM's Kalpana Veeraraghavan : "When you mirror external reality at the workplace, employees feel more at home, and they behave more naturally. And that environment enables us to access a lot more talent." At IBM, the overall percentage of women still remains about 28%, but the most recent initiatives suggest that the number could quickly rise to the ideal 50%.


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I thought i could manage to workout a feud between you & IPITS
have fun getting future endeavored from this site. hahahahahhahahaha
on a side note- your life is going to be one big struggle if you keep all that hate in your heart. I will be praying for you.
Have fun in math class SON!!!
Thanks, man!
Black Ninja!
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A polar bear at Budapest's Fisherman's Bastion to demand immediate global action to protect the Arctic from destructive oil drilling. Budapest is one of many global cities being visited today at dawn as part of a phased Arctic Rising that will follow the sunrise across the planet.06/21/2012
© Greenpeace
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Preparing women to lead, PLEN is the place to be if you are a college woman interested in exploring a career in public policy. PLEN offers seminars where, in 3-5 days, a student can discover how Washington really works, network with high-level women policymakers, and connect with people who can help her secure an internship, open doors to jobs, and launch her career.
PLEN programs also offer other unique professional development opportunities, including salary negotiation, resume workshops and informational interviews.
Through an arrangement with the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC), which provides internships, seminars, and housing, Wilson students may receive up to a full semester's credit for working and studying in Washington, D.C. Seminars are taught in Washington by TWC faculty who have both academic preparation and practical experience in governmental affairs. Students' work is assessed by Wilson faculty. Internship opportunities are also available in London, U.K. and Sydney, Australia.
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Permission shall be obtained in advance to receive credit for work satisfactorily completed at summer sessions of accredited colleges and universities in the United States and abroad and through approved travel study tours.
The upcoming presidential nomination conventions provide exceptional opportunities for learning. Students who are nominated will participate in the Democratic and Republican National Convention Academic Seminars, which remain the only national academic programs of their scope, size and visibility.
Combining formal instruction, guest lectures, panels, tours, site visits, and field work assignments, the program gives students the opportunity to experience the convention from behind the scenes, and to witness democracy in action at both the grassroots and national levels.
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Nicole Galland is the author of four previous novels: The Fool's Tale, Revenge of the Rose, Crossed: A Tale of the Fourth Crusade, and I, Iago. She's worked in theater, screenwriting, magazine publishing, grad-schooling, teaching, temping, and other random enterprises. She is the cofounder of Shakespeare for the Masses, a project that irreverently makes the Bard accessible to the Bardophobes of the world. She is married to actor Billy Meleady.
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text: I've been super slow on the old customs recently, part of the reason for that is my brothers sort of step son asked me to paint this guy up for him. OK I thought, it will kinda be like going back to my roots as I learnt most of my paint techniques from painting blood bowl miniatures. Little did I know how much detail is packed onto this guy, anyhoo it took me best part of 2 months to do this guy and I felt real bad for my bro's boy so I did a little research and found he had a servant named Makari so i decided to make the lil guy too, later I found out he is no longer a part of the game but ho hum, i like him. He was made from a Space crusade Gretchin and the banner is jus paper. Oh and I loaded the bases with magnets so they're removable.


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Should they survive the rigors of cubhood, lionesses in secure habitat such as Kruger National Park may frequently reach an age of 12–14 years whereas lions seldom live for longer than 8 years. However, there are records of lionesses living for up to 20 years in the wild. In captivity both male and female lions can live for 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. While lions, in general, do not selectively hunt humans, some have been known to become man-eaters and seek human prey.
The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of 30 to 50 percent over the past two decades in its African range; populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not well understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern. Lions have been kept in menageries since Roman times and have been a key species sought after and exhibited in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.
Visually, the male is highly distinctive and is easily recognized by its mane. The head of the male lion is one of the most widely recognized animal symbols in human culture. It has been depicted extensively in literature, in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature.
The lioness has been recognized, however, as the pinnacle of hunting prowess from the earliest of human writings and graphic representations. The lionesses are the hunters for their pride and capture their prey with precise and complex teamwork. Each lioness develops specific skills for her role in the hunting techniques used by her pride and, generally, assumes that role during most hunts. Members of human cultures living among lions in natural habitats have understood this characteristic and often have chosen the lioness to represent their most ferocious war deities and warriors, often naming their male rulers as her "son". Examples drawn from the earliest of written records include the Egyptian pantheon deities of Sekhmet, Bast, Menhit, and Tefnut, and these deities may have had precursors in Nubia and Lybia. Other Egyptian deities are quite complex and assume aspects that may include one as a lioness headed human or a lioness in specific roles. Depictions of lions hunting in groups have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves.
The oldest lion-like fossil is known from Laetoli in Tanzania and is perhaps 3.5 million years old; some scientists have identified the material as Panthera leo. These records are not well-substantiated, and all that can be said is that they pertain to a Panthera-like felid. The oldest confirmed records of Panthera leo in Africa are about 2 million years younger. The closest relatives of the lion are the other Panthera species: the tiger, the jaguar, and the leopard. Morphological and genetic studies reveal that the tiger was the first of these recent species to diverge. About 1.9 million years ago the jaguar branched off the remaining group, which contained ancestors of the leopard and lion. The lion and leopard subsequently separated about 1 to 1.25 million years ago from each other.
Panthera leo itself evolved in Africa between 1 million and 800,000 years ago before spreading throughout the Holarctic region. It appeared in Europe for the first time 700,000 years ago with the subspecies Panthera leo fossilis at Isernia in Italy. From this lion derived the later Cave Lion (Panthera leo spelaea), which appeared about 300,000 years ago. During the upper Pleistocene the lion spread to North and South America, and developed into Panthera leo atrox, the American Lion. Lions died out in northern Eurasia and America at the end of the last glaciation, about 10,000 years ago; this may have been secondary to the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna.
Traditionally 12 recent subspecies of lion were recognized, the largest of which has been recognized as the Barbary Lion. The major differences between these subspecies are location, mane appearance, size, and distribution. Because these characteristics are very insignificant and show a high individual variability, most of these forms were debatable and probably invalid; additionally, they were often based upon zoo material of unknown origin that may have had "striking, but abnormal" morphological characteristics. Today only eight subspecies are usually accepted, but one of these (the Cape Lion formerly described as Panthera leo melanochaita) is probably invalid. Even the remaining seven subspecies might be too much; mitochondrial variation in recent African lions is modest, which suggests that all Sub-Saharan lions could be considered a single subspecies, possibly divided in two main clades: one to the west of the Great Rift Valley and the other to the east. Lions from Tsavo in Eastern Kenya are much closer genetically to lions in Transvaal (South Africa), than to those in the Aberdare Range in Western Kenya.
Lions have been known to breed with tigers (most often the Siberian and Bengal subspecies) to create hybrids called ligers and tigons. They have also been crossed with leopards to produce leopons, and jaguars to produce jaglions. The marozi is reputedly a spotted lion or a naturally occurring leopon, while the Congolese Spotted Lion is a complex lion/jaguar/leopard hybrid called a lijagulep. Such hybrids were once commonly bred in zoos, but this is now discouraged due to the emphasis on conserving species and subspecies. Hybrids are still bred in private menageries and in zoos in China.
The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. Because the growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent for a growth-promoting gene passed on by the male lion, ligers grow far larger than either parent. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species (spots and stripes on a sandy background). Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile. Males have about a 50 percent chance of having a mane, but if they grow one their manes will be modest: around 50 percent of a pure lion mane. Ligers are typically between 3.0 and 3.7 m (10 to 12 feet) in length, and can be between 360 and 450 kg (800 to 1,000 pounds) or more. The less common tigon is a cross between the lioness and the male tiger.
The lion is the second largest feline after the tiger. With powerful legs, a strong jaw, and long canine teeth, the lion can bring down and kill large prey. Lion coloration varies from light buff to yellowish, reddish or dark ochraceous brown. The underparts are generally lighter and the tail tuft is black. Lion cubs are born with brown rosettes (spots) on their body, rather like those of a leopard. Although these fade as lions reach adulthood, faint spots can still often be seen on the legs and underparts, particularly on lionesses.
Lions are the only members of the cat family to display obvious sexual dimorphism—that is, males and females look distinctly different, as a consequence of the specialized roles that each play in the pride. For instance, the lioness, as the hunter, lacks the male's thick mane, which would impede her ability to camouflage when stalking the prey. The color of the male's mane varies from blond to black, generally becoming darker as the lion grows older.
Weights for adult lions generally lie between 150–250 kg (330–550 lb) for males and 120–182 kg (264–400 lb) for females. Nowell and Jackson report average weights of 181 kg for males and 126 kg for females; one male shot near Mount Kenya was weighed at 272 kg (600 lb). Lions tend to vary in size depending on their environment and area, resulting in a wide spread in recorded weights. For instance, lions in southern Africa tend to be about 5 percent heavier than those in East Africa, in general.
Head and body length is 170–250 cm (5 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in) in males and 140–175 cm (4 ft 7 in – 5 ft 9 in) in females; shoulder height is about 123 cm (4 ft) in males and 107 cm (3 ft 6 in) in females. The tail length is 90-105 cm (2 ft 11 in - 3 ft 5 in) in males and 70–100 cm in females (2 ft 4 in – 3 ft 3 in). The longest known lion was a black-maned male shot near Mucsso, southern Angola in October 1973; the heaviest known lion was a man-eater shot in 1936 just outside Hectorspruit in eastern Transvaal, South Africa and weighed 313 kg (690 lb). Lions in captivity tend to be larger than lions in the wild—the heaviest lion on record is a male at Colchester Zoo in England named Simba in 1970, who weighed in at 375 kg (826 lb).
In both males and females, the tail ends in a hairy tuft. In some lions, the tuft conceals a hard "spine" or "spur", approximately 5 mm long, formed of the final sections of tail bone fused together. The lion is the only felid to have a tufted tail—the function of the tuft and spine are unknown. Absent at birth, the tuft develops around 5½ months of age and is readily identifiable at 7 months.
The mane of the male lion, unique amongst cats, is one of the most distinctive characteristics of the species. It makes the lion appear larger, providing an excellent intimidation display; this aids the lion during confrontations with other lions and with the species' chief competitor in Africa, the spotted hyena. The presence, absence, color, and size of the mane is associated with genetic precondition, sexual maturity, climate and testosterone production; the rule of thumb is the darker and fuller the mane, the healthier the lion. Research in Tanzania also suggests mane length signals fighting success in male-male relationships. Darker-maned individuals may have longer reproductive lives and higher offspring survival, although they suffer in the hottest months of the year. In prides including a coalition of two or three males, it is possible that lionesses solicit mating more actively with heavily maned lions.
Scientists once believed that the distinct status of some subspecies could be justified by morphology, including the size of the mane. Morphology was used to identify subspecies such as the Barbary Lion and Cape Lion. Research has suggested, however, that environmental factors influence the color and size of a lion's mane, such as the ambient temperature. The cooler ambient temperature in European and North American zoos, for example, can result in a heavier mane. Thus the mane is an inappropriate marker for identifying subspecies. However the males of the Asiatic subspecies are characterized by sparser manes than average African lions.
Maneless male lions have been reported in Senegal and Tsavo East National Park in Kenya, and the original male white lion from Timbavati also was maneless. Castrated lions have minimal manes. The lack of a mane is sometimes found in inbred lion populations; inbreeding also results in poor fertility.
Many lionesses have a ruff that may be apparent in certain poses. Sometimes it is indicated in sculptures and drawings, especially ancient artwork, and is misinterpreted as a male mane. It differs from a mane, however, in being at the jaw line below the ears, of much less hair length, and frequently not noticeable, whereas a mane extends above the ears, often obscuring their outline entirely.
Cave paintings of extinct European Cave Lions exclusively show animals with no mane, or just the hint of a mane, suggesting to some that they were more or less maneless; however, females hunting for a pride are the likely subjects of the drawings—since they are shown in a group related to hunting—so these images do not enable a reliable judgment about whether the males had manes. The drawings do suggest that the extinct species used the same social organization and hunting strategies as contemporary lions.
The white lion is not a distinct subspecies, but a special morph with a genetic condition, leucism, that causes paler colouration akin to that of the white tiger; the condition is similar to melanism, which causes black panthers. White Transvaal lion (Panthera leo krugeri) individuals occasionally have been encountered in and around Kruger National Park and the adjacent Timbavati Private Game Reserve in eastern South Africa, but are more commonly found in captivity, where breeders deliberately select them. The unusual cream color of their coats is due to a recessive gene. Reportedly, they have been bred in camps in South Africa for use as trophies for canned hunts.
Confirmation of the existence of white lions only came in the late twentieth century. For hundreds of years prior, the white lion had been thought to be a figment of legend circulating in South Africa, the white pelage of the animal said to represent the goodness in all creatures. Sightings were first reported in the early 1900s, and continued, infrequently, for almost fifty years until, in 1975, a litter of white lion cubs was found at Timbavati Game Reserve.
Lions are predatory carnivores who manifest two types of social organization. Some are residents, living in groups, called prides. The pride usually consists of approximately five or six related females, their cubs of both sexes, and one or two males known as a coalition who mate with the adult females (although extremely large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have been observed). The coalition of males associated with a pride are usually two, but may increase to four and decrease again over time. Male cubs are excluded from their maternal pride when they reach maturity.
The second organizational behaviour is labeled nomads, who range widely and move about sporadically, either singularly or in pairs. Pairs are more frequent among related males who have been excluded from their birth pride. Note that a lion may switch lifestyles; nomads may become residents and vice versa. Males have to go through this lifestyle and some never are able to join another pride. A female who becomes a nomad has much greater difficulty joining a new pride, as the females in a pride are related and reject most attempts by an unrelated female to join their family group.
The area a pride occupies is called a pride area, whereas that by a nomad is a range. The males associated with a pride tend to stay on the fringes, patrolling their territory. Why sociality—the most pronounced in any cat species—has developed in lionesses is the subject of much debate. Increased hunting success appears an obvious reason, but this is less than sure upon examination: coordinated hunting does allow for more successful predation, but also ensures that non-hunting "cheaters" reduce per capita caloric intake. Other benefits include possible kin selection (better to share food with a related lion than with a stranger), protection of the young, maintenance of territory, and individual insurance against injury and hunger.
Lionesses do the majority of the hunting for their pride, being smaller, swifter and more agile than the males, and unencumbered by the heavy and conspicuous mane, which causes overheating during exertion. They act as a co-ordinated group in order to successfully stalk and bring down the prey. However, males have a tendency to dominate the kill once the lionesses have succeeded (they are actually more likely to share the kill with the cubs than with the lionesses), and rarely share food they have killed by themselves. Smaller prey is eaten at the location of the hunt, thereby being shared among the hunters; when the kill is larger it often is dragged to the pride area. There is more sharing with larger kills, although pride members still often behave aggressively towards each other as they each try to consume as much food as they can. Both males and females defend the pride against intruders. Some individual lions consistently lead the defense against intruders, while others lag behind. These "laggards" are not punished by leaders. Possibly laggards provide other services to the group so that leaders forgive them. An alternative hypothesis is that there is some reward associated with being a leader who fends off intruders. The male or males often defend the pride from outside males who attempt to take over the pride. Females form a stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females; membership only changes with the births and deaths of lionesses, though some females do leave and become nomadic. Subadult males on the other hand, leave the pride when they reach maturity at around 2–3 years of age.
Lions are powerful animals who usually hunt in coordinated groups and stalk their chosen prey. However, they are not particularly known for their stamina - for instance, a lioness' heart makes up only 0.57 percent of her body weight (a male's is 0.45 percent of his body weight), whereas a hyena's heart is close to 10 percent of its body weight. Thus, although lionesses can reach speeds of , they can only do so for short bursts so they have to be close to their prey before starting the attack. They take advantage of factors that reduce visibility; many kills take place near some form of cover or at night. They sneak up to the victim until they reach a distance of approximately 30 metres (98 ft) or less. Typically, several female lions work together and encircle the herd from different points. Once they have closed with a herd, they usually target the closest prey. The attack is short and powerful; they attempt to catch the victim with a fast rush and final leap. The prey is usually killed by either strangulation or by asphyxiation, whereby a lion encloses the animal's mouth and nostrils in its jaws, although smaller prey may simply be killed by a swipe of a lion's paw.
The prey consists mainly of large mammals, with a preference for wildebeest, impalas, zebras, buffalo, and warthogs in Africa and nilgai, wild boar, and several deer species in India. Many other species are hunted, based on availability. Mainly this will include ungulates weighing between 50 and 300 kg (110–660 lb) such as kudu, hartebeest, gemsbok, and eland. Occasionally, they take relatively small species such as Thomson's Gazelle or springbok. Lions living near the Namib coast feed extensively on seals. Lions hunting in groups are capable of taking down most animals, even healthy adults, but they rarely attack very large prey such as buffalo bulls or fully grown male giraffes due to the danger of injury.
Extensive statistics collected over various studies show that lions normally feed on mammals in the range 190–550 kg (420–1210 lb). Wildebeest rank at the top of peferred prey (making nearly half of the lion prey in the Serengeti) followed by zebra. Most adult hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, elephants, and smaller gazelles, impala, and other agile antelopes are generally excluded. However giraffes, and buffalos are often taken in certain regions. Occasionally hippopotamus is also taken, but adult rhinoceroses are generally avoided. Even though smaller than 190 kg (420 lb), warthogs are often taken depending on availability. In some areas, they specialise in hunting atypical prey species; this is the case at the Savuti river, where they prey on elephants. Park guides in the area reported that the lions, driven by extreme hunger, started taking down baby elephants, and then moved on to adolescents and, occasionally, fully grown adults during the night when elephants' vision is poor. In Kruger National Park, giraffes are regularly hunted. Lions also attack domestic livestock; in India cattle contribute significantly to their diet. They are capable of killing other predators such as leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and wild dogs, as well as scavenging animals either dead from natural causes or killed by other predators. A lion may gorge itself and eat up to 30 kg (66 lb) in one sitting; if it is unable to consume all the kill it will rest for a few hours before consuming more. On a hot day, the pride may retreat to shade leaving a male or two to stand guard. An adult lioness requires an average of about 5 kg (11 lb) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15.4 lb).
Because lionesses hunt in open spaces where they are easily seen by their prey, cooperative hunting increases the likelihood of a successful hunt; this is especially true with larger species. Teamwork also enables them to defend their kills more easily against other large predators such as hyenas, which may be attracted by vultures from kilometers away in open savannas. Lionesses do most of the hunting. In typical hunts, each lioness has a favored position in the group, either stalking prey on the "wing" then attacking, or moving a smaller distance in the centre of the group and capturing prey in flight from other lionesses.
Males attached to prides do not usually participate in hunting, except in the case of larger quarry such as giraffe and buffalo. Bachelor male lions without a pride of their own are forced to hunt. Male lions have also been observed and recorded hunting in groups.
Young lions first display stalking behavior around three months of age, although they do not participate in hunting until they are almost a year old. They begin to hunt effectively when nearing the age of two.
The average gestation period is around 110 days, the female giving birth to a litter of one to four cubs in a secluded den (which may be a thicket, a reed-bed, a cave or some other sheltered area) usually away from the rest of the pride. She will often hunt by herself whilst the cubs are still helpless, staying relatively close to the thicket or den where the cubs are kept. The cubs themselves are born blind—their eyes do not open until roughly a week after birth. They weigh 1.2–2.1 kg (2.6–4.6 lb) at birth and are almost helpless, beginning to crawl a day or two after birth and walking around three weeks of age. The lioness moves her cubs to a new den site several times a month, carrying them one by one by the nape of the neck, to prevent scent from building up at a single den site and thus avoiding the attention of predators that may harm the cubs.
Usually, the mother does not integrate herself and her cubs back into the pride until the cubs are six to eight weeks old. However, sometimes this introduction to pride life occurs earlier, particularly if other lionesses have given birth at about the same time. For instance, lionesses in a pride often synchronize their reproductive cycles so that they cooperate in the raising and suckling of the young (once the cubs are past the initial stage of isolation with their mother), who suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. In addition to greater protection, the synchronization of births also has an advantage in that the cubs end up being roughly the same size, and thus have an equal chance of survival. If one lioness gives birth to a litter of cubs a couple of months after another lioness, for instance, then the younger cubs, being much smaller than their older brethren, are usually dominated by larger cubs at mealtimes—consequently, death by starvation is more common amongst the younger cubs.
In addition to starvation, cubs also face many other dangers, such as predation by jackals, hyenas, leopards, martial eagles and snakes. Even buffaloes, should they catch the scent of lion cubs, often stampede towards the thicket or den where they are being kept, doing their best to trample the cubs to death whilst warding off the lioness. Furthermore, when one or more new males oust the previous male(s) associated with a pride, the conqueror(s) often kill any existing young cubs, perhaps because females do not become fertile and receptive until their cubs mature or die. All in all, as many as 80 percent of the cubs will die before the age of two.
When first introduced to the rest of the pride, the cubs initially lack confidence when confronted with adult lions other than their mother. However, they soon begin to immerse themselves in the pride life, playing amongst themselves or attempting to initiate play with the adults. Lionesses with cubs of their own are more likely to be tolerant of another lioness's cubs than lionesses without cubs. The tolerance of the male lions towards the cubs varies—sometimes, a male will patiently let the cubs play with his tail or his mane, whereas another may snarl and bat the cubs away.
Weaning occurs after six to seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about 3 years of age and, at 4–5 years of age, are capable of challenging and displacing the adult male(s) associated with another pride. They begin to age and weaken between 10 and 15 years of age at the latest, if they have not already been critically injured whilst defending the pride (once ousted from a pride by rival males, male lions rarely manage a second take-over). This leaves a short window for their own offspring to be born and mature. If they are able to procreate as soon as they take over a pride, potentially, they may have more offspring reaching maturity before they also are displaced. A lioness often will attempt to defend her cubs fiercely from a usurping male, but such actions are rarely successful. He usually kills all of the existing cubs who are less than two years old. A lioness is weaker and much lighter than a male; success is more likely when a group of three or four mothers within a pride join forces against one male.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not only males that are ousted from their pride to become nomads, although the majority of females certainly do remain with their birth pride. However, when the pride becomes too large, the next generation of female cubs may be forced to leave to eke out their own territory. Furthermore, when a new male lion takes over the pride, subadult lions, both male and female, may be evicted. Life is harsh for a female nomad. Nomadic lionesses rarely manage to raise their cubs to maturity, without the protection of other pride members.
One scientific study reports that both males and females may interact homosexually. Male lions pair-bond for a number of days and initiate homosexual activity with affectionate nuzzling and caressing, leading to mounting and thrusting. A study found that about 8 percent of mountings have been observed to occur with other males. Female pairings are held to be fairly common in captivity, but have not been observed in the wild.
Various species of tick commonly infest the ears, neck and groin regions of most lions. Adult forms of several species of the tapeworm genus Taenia have been isolated from intestines, the lions having ingested larval forms from antelope meat. Lions in the Ngorongoro Crater were afflicted by an outbreak of stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) in 1962; this resulted in lions becoming covered in bloody bare patches and emaciated. Lions sought unsuccessfully to evade the biting flies by climbing trees or crawling into hyena burrows; many perished or emigrated as the population dropped from 70 to 15 individuals. A more recent outbreak in 2001 killed six lions. Lions, especially in captivity, are vulnerable to the Canine distemper virus (CDV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). CDV is spread through domestic dogs and other carnivores; a 1994 outbreak in Serengeti National Park resulted in many lions developing neurological symptoms such as seizures. During the outbreak, several lions died from pneumonia and encephalitis. FIV, which is similar to HIV while not known to adversely affect lions, is worrisome enough in its effect in domestic cats that the Species Survival Plan recommends systematic testing in captive lions. It occurs with high to endemic frequency in several wild lion populations, but is mostly absent from Asiatic and Namibian lions.''
When resting, lion socialization occurs through a number of behaviors, and the animal's expressive movements are highly developed. The most common peaceful tactile gestures are head rubbing and social licking, which have been compared with grooming in primates. Head rubbing—nuzzling one's forehead, face and neck against another lion—appears to be a form of greeting, as it is seen often after an animal has been apart from others, or after a fight or confrontation. Males tend to rub other males, while cubs and females rub females. Social licking often occurs in tandem with head rubbing; it is generally mutual and the recipient appears to express pleasure. The head and neck are the most common parts of the body licked, which may have arisen out of utility, as a lion cannot lick these areas individually.
Lions have an array of facial expressions and body postures that serve as visual gestures. Their repertoire of vocalizations is also large; variations in intensity and pitch, rather than discrete signals, appear central to communication. Lion sounds include snarling, purring, hissing, coughing, miaowing, woofing and roaring. Lions tend to roar in a very characteristic manner, starting with a few deep, long roars that trail off into a series of shorter ones. They most often roar at night; the sound, which can be heard from a distance of , is used to advertise the animal's presence. Lions have the loudest roar of any big cat.
Lions tend to dominate smaller felines such as cheetahs and leopards in areas where they are sympatric. They will steal their kills and will kill their cubs and even adults when given the chance. The cheetah has a 50 percent chance of losing its kill to lions or other predators. Lions are major killers of cheetah cubs, up to 90 percent of which are lost in their first weeks of life due to attacks by other predators. Cheetahs avoid competition by hunting at different times of the day and hide their cubs in thick brush. Leopards also use such tactics, but have the advantage of being able to subsist much better on small prey than either lions or cheetahs. Also, unlike cheetahs, leopards can climb trees and use them to keep their cubs and kills away from lions. However, lionesses will occasionally be successful in climbing to retrieve leopard kills. Similarly, lions dominate African wild dogs, not only taking their kills but also preying on both young and adult dogs (although the latter are rarely caught).
The Nile crocodile is the only large predator (besides man) that can singly threaten the lion. Depending on the size of the crocodile and the lion, either can lose kills or carrion to the other. Lions have been known to kill crocodiles venturing onto land, while the reverse is true for lions entering waterways containing crocodiles, as evidenced by the fact that lion claws have on occasion been found in crocodile stomachs.
In Africa, lions can be found in savanna grasslands with scattered Acacia trees which serve as shade; their habitat in India is a mixture of dry savanna forest and very dry deciduous scrub forest. In relatively recent times the habitat of lions spanned the southern parts of Eurasia, ranging from Greece to India, and most of Africa except the central rainforest-zone and the Sahara desert. Herodotus reported that lions had been common in Greece around 480 BC; they attacked the baggage camels of the Persian king Xerxes on his march through the country. Aristotle considered them rare by 300 BC and by 100 AD extirpated. A population of the Asiatic Lion survived until the tenth century in the Caucasus, their last European outpost.
The species was eradicated from Palestine by the Middle Ages and from most of the rest of Asia after the arrival of readily available firearms in the eighteenth century. Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century they became extinct in North Africa and the Middle East. By the late nineteenth century the lion had disappeared from Turkey and most of northern India, while the last sighting of a live Asiatic lion in Iran was in 1941 (between Shiraz and Jahrom, Fars province), though the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of Karun river, Khūzestān Province in 1944. There are no subsequent reliable reports from Iran. The subspecies now survives only in and around the Gir Forest of northwestern India. About 300 lions live in a 1,412 km² (558 square miles) sanctuary in the state of Gujarat, which covers most of the forest. Their numbers are slowly increasing.
Until the late Pleistocene (about 10,000 years ago), the lion was the most widespread land mammal aside from man. 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 Yukon to Peru. Parts of this range were occupied by subspecies that are extinct today.
Most lions now live in eastern and southern Africa, and their numbers there are rapidly decreasing, with an estimated 30–50 percent decline over the last two decades. Currently, estimates of the African lion population range between 16,500 and 47,000 living in the wild in 2002–2004, down from early 1990s estimates that ranged as high as 100,000 and perhaps 400,000 in 1950. The cause of the decline is not well-understood, and may not be reversible. Currently, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are considered the most significant threats to the species. The remaining populations are often geographically isolated from each other, which can lead to inbreeding, and consequently, a lack of genetic diversity. Therefore the lion is considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, while the Asiatic subspecies is critically endangered. The lion population in the region of West Africa is isolated from lion populations of Central Africa, with little or no exchange of breeding individuals. The number of mature individuals in West Africa is estimated by two separate recent surveys at 850–1,160 (2002/2004). There is disagreement over the size of the largest individual population in West Africa: the estimates range from 100 to 400 lions in Burkina Faso's Arly-Singou ecosystem.
Conservation of both African and Asian lions has required the setup and maintenance of national parks and game reserves; among the best known are Etosha National Park in Namibia, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and Kruger National Park in eastern South Africa. Outside these areas, the issues arising from lions' interaction with livestock and people usually results in the elimination of the former. In India, the last refuge of the Asiatic lion is the 1,412 km² (558 square miles) Gir Forest National Park in western India which had about 359 lions (as of April 2006). As in Africa, numerous human habitations are close by with the resultant problems between lions, livestock, locals and wildlife officials. The Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project plans to establish a second independent population of Asiatic Lions at the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is important to start a second population to serve as a gene pool for the last surviving Asiatic lions and to help develop and maintain genetic diversity enabling the species to survive.
The former popularity of the Barbary lion as a zoo animal has meant that scattered lions in captivity are likely to be descended from Barbary Lion stock. This includes twelve lions at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, England that are descended from animals owned by the King of Morocco. Another eleven animals believed to be Barbary lions were found in Addis Ababa zoo, descendants of animals owned by Emperor Haile Selassie. WildLink International, in collaboration with Oxford University, launched their ambitious International Barbary Lion Project with the aim of identifying and breeding Barbary lions in captivity for eventual reintroduction into a national park in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
Following the discovery of the decline of lion population in Africa, several coordinated efforts involving lion conservation have been organised in an attempt to stem this decline. Lions are one species included in the Species Survival Plan, a coordinated attempt by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to increase its chances of survival. The plan was originally started in 1982 for the Asiatic lion, but was suspended when it was found that most Asiatic lions in North American zoos were not genetically pure, having been hybridized with African lions. The African lion plan started in 1993, focusing especially on the South African subspecies, although there are difficulties in assessing the genetic diversity of captive lions, since most individuals are of unknown origin, making maintenance of genetic diversity a problem.
The lion's proclivity for man-eating has been systematically examined. American and Tanzanian scientists report that man-eating behavior in rural areas of Tanzania increased greatly from 1990 to 2005. At least 563 villagers were attacked and many eaten over this period—a number far exceeding the more famed "Tsavo" incidents of a century earlier. The incidents occurred near Selous National Park in Rufiji District and in Lindi Province near the Mozambican border. While the expansion of villagers into bush country is one concern, the authors argue that conservation policy must mitigate the danger because, in this case, conservation contributes directly to human deaths. Cases in Lindi have been documented where lions seize humans from the center of substantial villages.
Author Robert R. Frump wrote in The Man-eaters of Eden that Mozambican refugees regularly crossing Kruger National Park at night in South Africa are attacked and eaten by the lions; park officials have conceded that man-eating is a problem there. Frump believes thousands may have been killed in the decades after apartheid sealed the park and forced the refugees to cross the park at night. For nearly a century before the border was sealed, Mozambicans had regularly walked across the park in daytime with little harm.
Packer estimates more than 200 Tanzanians are killed each year by lions, crocodiles, elephants, hippos, and snakes, and that the numbers could be double that amount, with lions thought to kill at least 70 of those. Packer and Ikanda are among the few conservationists who believe western conservation efforts must take account of these matters not just because of ethical concerns about human life, but also for the long term success of conservation efforts and lion preservation.
A man-eating lion was killed by game scouts in Southern Tanzania in April 2004. It is believed to have killed and eaten at least 35 people in a series of incidents covering several villages in the Rufiji Delta coastal region. Dr Rolf D. Baldus, the GTZ wildlife programme coordinator, commented that it was likely that the lion preyed on humans because it had a large abscess underneath a molar which was cracked in several places. He further commented that "This lion probably experienced a lot of pain, particularly when it was chewing. GTZ is the German development cooperation agency and has been working with the Tanzanian government on wildlife conservation for nearly two decades. As in other cases this lion was large, lacked a mane, and had a tooth problem.
The "All-Africa" record of man-eating generally is considered to be not Tsavo, but the lesser-known incidents in the late 1930s through the late 1940s in what was then Tanganyika (now Tanzania). George Rushby, game warden and professional hunter, eventually dispatched the pride, which over three generations is thought to have killed and eaten 1,500 to 2,000 in what is now Njombe district.
Widely seen in captivity, lions are part of a group of exotic animals that are the core of zoo exhibits since the late eighteenth century; members of this group are invariably large vertebrates and include elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, large primates, and other big cats; zoos sought to gather as many of these species as possible. Though many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are over 1000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are considered an ambassador species and are kept for tourism, education and conservation purposes. Lions can reach an age of over 20 years in captivity; Apollo, a resident lion of Honolulu Zoo in Honolulu, Hawaii, died at age 22 in August 2007. His two sisters, born in 1986, are still living. A zoo-based lion breeding programme usually takes into account the separation of the various lion subspecies, while mitigating the inbreeding that is likely to occur when animals are divided by subspecies.
Lions were kept and bred by Assyrian kings as early as 850 BC, and Alexander the Great was said to have been presented with tame lions by the Malhi of northern India. Later in Roman times, lions were kept by emperors to take part in the gladiator arenas. Roman notables, including Sulla, Pompey, and Julius Caesar, often ordered the mass slaughter of hundreds of lions at a time. In the East, lions were tamed by Indian princes, and Marco Polo reported that Kublai Khan kept lions inside. The first European "zoos" spread amongst noble and royal families in the thirteenth century, and until the seventeenth century were called seraglios; at that time, they came to be called menageries, an extension of the cabinet of curiosities. They spread from France and Italy during the Renaissance to the rest of Europe. In England, although the seraglio tradition was less developed, Lions were kept at the Tower of London in a seraglio established by King John in the thirteenth century, probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his palace in Woodstock, near Oxford; where lions had been reported stocked by William of Malmesbury.
Seraglios served as expressions of the nobility's power and wealth. Animals such as big cats and elephants, in particular, symbolized power, and would be pitted in fights against each other or domesticated animals. By extension, menageries and seraglios served as demonstrations of the dominance of man over nature. Consequently, the defeat of such natural "lords" by a cow in 1682 astonished the spectators, and the flight of an elephant before a rhinoceros drew jeers. Such fights would slowly fade out in the seventeenth century with the spread of the menagerie and their appropriation by the commoners. The tradition of keeping big cats as pets would last into the nineteenth century, at which time it was seen as highly eccentric.
The presence of lions at the Tower of London was intermittent, being restocked when a monarch or his consort, such as Margaret of Anjou the wife of Henry VI, either sought or were given animals. Records indicate they were kept in poor conditions there in the seventeenth century, in contrast to more open conditions in Florence at the time. The menagerie was open to the public by the eighteenth century; admission was a sum of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions. A rival menagerie at the Exeter Exchange also exhibited lions until the early nineteenth century. The Tower menagerie was closed down by William IV, and animals transferred to the London Zoo which opened its gates to the public on 27 April 1828. The wild animals trade flourished alongside improved colonial trade of the nineteenth century. Lions were considered fairly common and inexpensive. Although they would barter higher than tigers, they were less costly than larger, or more difficult to transport animals such as the giraffe and hippopotamus, and much less than pandas. Like other animals, lions were seen as little more than a natural, boundless commodity that was mercilessly exploited with terrible losses in capture and transportation. The widely reproduced imagery of the heroic hunter chasing lions would dominate a large part of the century. Explorers and hunters exploited a popular Manichean division of animals into "good" and "evil" to add thrilling value to their adventures, casting themselves as heroic figures. This resulted in big cats, always suspected of being man-eaters, representing "both the fear of nature and the satisfaction of having overcome it.
Lions were kept in cramped and squalid conditions at London Zoo until a larger lion house with roomier cages was built in the 1870s. Further changes took place in the early twentieth century, when Carl Hagenbeck designed enclosures more closely resembling a natural habitat, with concrete 'rocks', more open space and a moat instead of bars. He designed lion enclosures for both Melbourne Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo, among others, in the early twentieth century. Though his designs were popular, the old bars and cage enclosures prevailed until the 1960s in many zoos. In the later decades of the twentieth century, larger, more natural enclosures and the use of wire mesh or laminated glass instead of lowered dens allowed visitors to come closer than ever to the animals, with some attractions even placing the den on ground higher than visitors, such as the Cat Forest/Lion Overlook of Oklahoma City Zoological Park. Lions are now housed in much larger naturalistic areas; modern recommended guidelines more closely approximate conditions in the wild with closer attention to the lions' needs, highlighting the need for dens in separate areas, elevated positions in both sun and shade where lions can sit and adequate ground cover and drainage as well as sufficient space to roam.
There have also been instances where a lion was kept by a private individual, such as the lioness Elsa, who was raised by George Adamson and his wife Joy Adamson and came to develop a strong bonds with them, particularly the latter. The lioness later achieved fame, her life being documented in a series of books and films.
Lion-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of lions in combat with other animals, usually dogs. Records of it exist in ancient times through until the seventeenth century. It was finally banned in Vienna by 1800 and England in 1825.
Lion taming refers to the practice of taming lions for entertainment, either as part of an established circus or as an individual act, such as Siegfried & Roy. The term is also often used for the taming and display of other big cats such as tigers, leopards, and cougars. The practice was pioneered in the first half of the nineteenth century by Frenchman Henri Martin and American Isaac Van Amburgh who both toured widely, and whose techniques were copied by a number of followers. Van Amburgh performed before Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in 1838 when he toured Great Britain. Martin composed a pantomime titled Les Lions de Mysore ("the lions of Mysore"), an idea that Amburgh quickly borrowed. These acts eclipsed equestrianism acts as the central display of circus shows, but truly entered public consciousness in the early twentieth century with cinema. In demonstrating the superiority of man over animal, lion taming served a purpose similar to animal fights of previous centuries. The now iconic lion tamer's chair was possibly first used by American Clyde Beatty (1903–1965).
The lion has been an icon for humanity for thousands of years, appearing in cultures across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Despite incidents of attacks on humans, lions have enjoyed a positive depiction in culture as strong but noble. A common depiction is their representation as "king of the jungle" or "king of the beasts"; hence, the lion has been a popular symbol of royalty and stateliness, as well as a symbol of bravery; it is featured in several fables of the sixth century BC Greek storyteller Aesop.
Representations of lions date back 32,000 years; the lion-headed ivory carving from Vogelherd cave in the Swabian Alb in southwestern Germany has been determined to be about 32,000 years old from the Aurignacian culture. Two lions were depicted mating in the Chamber of Felines in 15,000-year-old Paleolithic cave paintings in the Lascaux caves. Cave lions are also depicted in the Chauvet Cave, discovered in 1994; this has been dated at 32,000 years of age, though it may be of similar or younger age to Lascaux.
Ancient Egypt venerated the lioness (the fierce hunter) as their war deities and among those in the Egyptian pantheon are, Bast, Mafdet, Menhit, Pakhet, Sekhmet, Tefnut, and the Sphinx; Among the Egyptian pantheon also are sons of these goddesses such as, Maahes, and, as attested by Egyptians as a Nubian deity, Dedun.
Careful examination of the lion deities noted in many ancient cultures reveal that many are lioness also. Admiration for the co-operative hunting strategies of lionesses was evident in very ancient times. Most of the lion gates depict lionesses. The Nemean lion was symbolic in Ancient Greece and Rome, represented as the constellation and zodiac sign Leo, and described in mythology, where its skin was borne by the hero Heracles.
The lion is the biblical emblem of the tribe of Judah and later the Kingdom of Judah. It is contained within Jacob's blessing to his fourth son in the penultimate chapter of the Book of Genesis, "Judah is a lion's whelp; On prey, my son have you grown. He crouches, lies down like a lion, like the king of beasts—who dare rouse him?" (Genesis 49:9). In the modern state of Israel, the lion remains the symbol of the capital city of Jerusalem, emblazoned on both the flag and coat of arms of the city.
The lion was a prominent symbol in both the Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian Empire periods. The classic Babylonian lion motif, found as a statue, carved or painted on walls, is often referred to as the striding lion of Babylon. It is in Babylon that the biblical Daniel is said to have been delivered from the lion's den. Such symbolism was appropriated by Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq for their Lion of Babylon tank, with the technology adapted from a Russian model.
In the Puranic texts of Hinduism, Narasimha ("man-lion") a half-lion, half-man incarnation or (avatara) of Vishnu, is worshipped by his devotees and saved the child devotee Prahlada from his father, the evil demon king Hiranyakashipu; Vishnu takes the form of half-man/half-lion, in Narasimha, having a human torso and lower body, but with a lion-like face and claws. Narasimha is worshiped as "Lion God."
Singh is an ancient Indian vedic name meaning "lion" (Asiatic lion), dating back over 2000 years to ancient India. It was originally only used by Rajputs a Hindu Kshatriya or military caste in India. After the birth of the Khalsa brotherhood in 1699, the Sikhs also adopted the name "Singh" due to the wishes of Guru Gobind Singh. Along with millions of Hindu Rajputs today, it is also used by over 20 million Sikhs worldwide.
Found famously on numerous flags and coats of arms all across Asia and Europe, the Asiatic lions also stand firm on the National Emblem of India..
Farther south on the Indian subcontinent, the Asiatic lion is symbolic for the Sinhalese, Sri Lanka's ethnic majority; the term derived from the Indo-Aryan Sinhala, meaning the "lion people" or "people with lion blood", while a sword wielding lion is the central figure on the national flag of Sri Lanka.
The Asiatic lion is a common motif in Chinese art. They were first used in art during the late Spring and Autumn Period (fifth or sixth century BC), and became much more popular during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), when imperial guardian lions started to be placed in front of imperial palaces for protection. Because lions have never been native to China, early depictions were somewhat unrealistic; after the introduction of Buddhist art to China in the Tang Dynasty (after the sixth century AD), lions were usually depicted without wings, their bodies became thicker and shorter, and their manes became curly. The lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume, often with musical accompaniment from cymbals, drums and gongs. They are performed at Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other celebratory occasions for good luck.
The island nation of Singapore (Singapura) derives its name from the Malay words singa (lion) and pura (city), which in turn is from the Tamil-Sanskrit சிங்க singa सिंह and पुर புர , which is cognate to the Greek πόλις, pólis. According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a fourteenth century Sumatran Malay prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, on alighting the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on shore that his chief minister identified as a lion (Asiatic lion). Recent studies of Singapore indicate that lions have never lived there, and the beast seen by Sang Nila Utama was more likely to have been a tiger.
"Aslan" or "Arslan (Ottoman ارسلان arslān and اصلان aṣlān) is the Turkish and Mongolian word for "lion". It was used as a title by a number of Seljuk and Ottoman rulers, including Alp Arslan and Ali Pasha, and is a Turkic/Iranian name.
"Lion" was the nickname of medieval warrior rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart,, Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Löwe), Duke of Saxony and Robert III of Flanders nicknamed "The Lion of Flanders"—a major Flemish national icon up to the present. Lions are frequently depicted on coats of arms, either as a device on shields themselves, or as supporters. (The lioness is much more infrequent.) The formal language of heraldry, called blazon, employs French terms to describe the images precisely. Such descriptions specified whether lions or other creatures were "rampant" or "passant", that is whether they were rearing or crouching. The lion is used as a symbol of sporting teams, from national soccer teams such as England, Scotland and Singapore to famous clubs such as the Detroit Lions of the NFL, Chelsea and Aston Villa of the English Premier League, (and the Premiership itself) to a host of smaller clubs around the world. Villa sport a Scottish Lion Rampant on their crest, as do Rangers and Dundee United of the Scottish Premier League.
Lions continue to feature in modern literature, from the messianic Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and following books from the Narnia series written by C. S. Lewis, to the comedic Cowardly Lion in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The advent of moving pictures saw the continued presence of lion symbolism; one of the most iconic and widely recognised lions is Leo the Lion, the mascot for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios, which has been in use since the 1920s. The 1960s saw the appearance of what is possibly the most famous lioness, the Kenyan animal Elsa in the movie Born Free, based on the true-life international bestselling book of the same title. The lion's role as King of the Beasts has been used in cartoons, from the 1950s manga which gave rise to the first Japanese colour TV animation series, Kimba the White Lion, Leonardo Lion of King Leonardo and his Short Subjects, both from the 1960s, up to the 1994 Disney animated feature film The Lion King, which also featured the popular song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in its soundtrack.
A lion appears on the South African 50-Rand banknotes (see South African rand).


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Of all the Corvettes, it is the midyear models that represent the most successful blend of elegant, sensuous curves and raw, exhilarating power. Unfortunately, with their unpredictable rear suspensions, springy frames and razor-thin tires, these Vettes fall well short of perfection when judged by contemporary performance-car standards. The result has been the rise of the resto-mod movement, whose adherents remove factory parts in favor of modern replacements, while leaving the basic framework of the car-ironically, its chief performance limitation-unaltered.
It was with this in mind that NASA engineer and road racer Jim Durham founded Nu Vintage Corvettes and created the deceptively modern Torch Red '67 you see in the accompanying pictures. Durham had previously owned a pair of C2s. It was his last one-a matching-numbers '66-that brought him to the breaking point. "You'd have to tune it up every time you drove it," he said of the factory-air small-block, which, although an excellent specimen of the breed, proved far from ideal as a daily driver. Folks, this is the truly sad part about the older-gen Vettes: If they were that good, they'd still be making them that way.
While Nu Vintage can rebuild any Corvette constructed during the car's first 30 years of production, this '67 is a fairly good example of how the process works. By the time Durham found it in Arkansas, the titled-as-a-'64 coupe was nothing but a shell of a body with a badly damaged front end. The body was transported to his shop just outside of Huntsville, Alabama, where it was carefully rebuilt-'67-style. Daniel Hestand of Nu Vintage put in hours of pain-staking fiberglass work, including the installation of a brand-new, jig-built front clip. With the car finally prepped, Darrin Wood of Wood's Body Shop did the block sanding and laid down the RM Torch Red paint that would give the car its glowing, smooth-as-glass finish.
While Hestand and Wood were busy with the body, a brand-new frame was being built at Tray Walden's Street Shop, Inc. in nearby Athens, Alabama. Unlike the long-gone factory frame, the gleaming, black-powdercoated Street Shop chassis is built of mandrel-formed 4 x 2 x 0.120-inch steel tubing and is designed to accept late-C4 suspension and brake parts. It's also a straight, drop-on fit, with no cutting required. But for all the thought that goes into the Street Shop frame-heavier gauge steel, with gussets on the frame corners (a la the Chevy Power Manual of old)-it's the C4 suspension that makes the biggest difference in the way the car handles.
While the C2/C3 independent rear was light-years ahead of the solid-axle design it replaced, one of its fatal flaws was that the floating-axle halfshafts formed the upper of the two links between the differential and the rear wheels. In short, the tires' rear camber depended on the amount of play in the axle stubs-not a good idea. At best, a driver had to make sure the car was "set up"-usually by putting lateral load on it before going into a curve-so that there were no nasty surprises. Fail to do so, and the results varied between a mild loose feeling and snap oversteer.
The five-link C4 "batwing" suspension, however, adds another link to reduce the halfshafts' input on handling and replaces the single trailing arm with a pair of much-lighter links. While there are plenty of stopgap measures that can be bolted onto a C2/C3 frame-poly bushings, bushing compression plates, and heim-jointed links instead of the cam-controlled ones-the suspension's fundamental design is the chief limiting factor. Even the best complete conversion kits, such as the Guldstrand five-bar, are still hamstrung by the factory frame-the flexibility of which limits the effectiveness of substantially stiffer suspension components.
Once the frame for Durham's Vette was welded together on its jig and prepped for assembly (performed on-site by Street Shop), lines were formed and installed for the ZR-1/J55 brakes. Aside from the obvious stopping-power advantage, using the aluminum C4 calipers in place of the stock cast-iron ones reduced unsprung weight, making the car more responsive to changes in the roadway. Aluminum A-arms and hubs didn't hurt, either. Other handling duties were picked up by adjustable Aldan American coilovers at all four corners and a Fox Mustang power rack-and-pinion unit. Compared with a bare stock frame, the stripped chassis itself miraculously shed some 50 pounds, bringing the estimated weight of the finished car down to around 2,850 pounds.
Trying to maintain the spirit of the Corvette itself, even while dragging it kicking and screaming into the 21st century, Durham selected an LS2 crate motor to power the little red rocket he was creating. Factory-stock and still under GM warranty, the 6.0-liter LS2 pumps out a healthy-but-controllable 400 hp while offering fuel economy (about 22 mpg on the highway in the 3,200-pound C6). That would scarcely have been believable back when midyears were still rolling off the production line. After all, despite its far-ranging performance enhancements, the Nu Vintage car was also intended to offer a dramatic improvement in the car's overall driveability.
A FAST engine-management system and wiring harness were installed to serve as the brain for the LS2's sequential fuel-injection system. A five-speed transmission was modified to fit the factory shifter location, then linked to a custom-length driveshaft and a Dana 44 rear loaded with 3.45 gears. Factory exhaust manifolds take burnt gasses from the aluminum heads to the 2 1/2-inch pipes, where they go thundering out the rear through dual Magnaflow mufflers.
Inside the passenger compartment, there is little to hint at what lies beneath the Vette's misleading "427"-lettered hood. The visceral feel is the same, fed by the engine's bellicose, snarling idle and the rocking vibration to which we're all accustomed. In fact, except for the well-hidden Classic Air A/C, the stock-looking five-speed shift map and the seats-'98 Vette thrones with customized Al Knoch covers-the car could be any other freshly restored midyear. Then the moment of truth comes: The chrome shifter with the non-functional reverse lockout clicks into First, the clutch eases out, and the engine goes from a snarl to a scream, slamming you back into the leather seats. Second keeps you pushed back hard in the seat, then Third and Fourth, each shift making the Sumitomo 255s cry out for mercy as they claw for traction they just can't find.