They are capable of living at high altitudes. Lions can live in forested, shrubby, mountainous, and semi-desert habitats. Lions can also live, with wider ranges, in most habitats except in tropical rainforests and in deserts. In these optimal habitats, lions are the second most abundant large predator, after spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta. ( O'Brien, et al., 1987 Urban and West, 2002)Īfrican lions live in plains or savanna habitat with a large prey base (mostly ungulates) and sufficient cover available. It should be noted, however, that there is some debate as to the validity of the African subspecies classifications, leaving only the Asiatic subspecies, P. These animals have been categorized as Somali lions ( P. Lastly, there are East African lions ( P. Panthera leo krugeri includes Kalahari lions (sometimes denoted as P. krugeri (south African or Transvaal lions). bleyenberghi (Katanga, Angolan, or south Congo lions), and P. Panthera leo senegalensis (west African or Senegalese lions), P. Each subspecies is identified by geographic region. In addition to the asiatic subspecies, many taxonomists contend that there are five extant African subspecies. ( "Asiatic Lion Information Center", 2001 Alden, et al., 1998 Estes, 1993) Once roaming from Greece to central India, Asiatic lions persist in the Gir forest of northwest India. persica) belong to the single remaining subspecies in this region. Lions once ranged throughout southwest Asia and north Africa. Lions were once exterminated from South Africa, where they remain in Kruger and Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks and possibly some other protected areas. African lions ( Panthera leo) live in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in desert and rainforest habitats.
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