"What surprised Patterson and Kays was that these man-eaters were adults, between eight and ten years old; most males develop manes by age five. Earlier studies in the Serengeti had suggested that maneless lions were "losers" or "humiliated" members of the pride. "Lacking a mane was something like a badge of dishonor," said Patterson"
"Curious about the social consequences of lacking a mane, Patterson and Kay traveled to Tsavo East National Park in Kenya to investigate the plight of maneless lions."
"None of the Tsavo prides had more than one male, which makes them very distinctive," said Patterson.
But the social scene gets even stranger.
It seems that there are far more nomadic males in Tsavo than have been observed in other places.
"Coalitions of three or four males live and hunt together—this is an alternative social structure that we have never seen," said Patterson. What surprised the scientists was that these coalitions were not able to displace the "pridemaster" and take over a pride.
Manelessness might also be due to hormone levels, Kays said. High testosterone levels inhibit hair growth in human males and leads to male pattern baldness. Similarly, Tsavo male lions may be genetically predisposed to high levels of testosterone. The high hormone levels may also explain the heightened aggressive tendencies seen in these lions.
But the findings in Tsavo indicate that the maneless males are certainly not starved for female attention and actually command larger prides than maned lions.
It seems that "the Tsavo lions have a lot of tricks up their sleeve that will only become obvious as we study their behavior and ecology," Patterson added.
The results of the study were published online on April 11, 2002, in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.
"Curious about the social consequences of lacking a mane, Patterson and Kay traveled to Tsavo East National Park in Kenya to investigate the plight of maneless lions."
"None of the Tsavo prides had more than one male, which makes them very distinctive," said Patterson.
But the social scene gets even stranger.
It seems that there are far more nomadic males in Tsavo than have been observed in other places.
"Coalitions of three or four males live and hunt together—this is an alternative social structure that we have never seen," said Patterson. What surprised the scientists was that these coalitions were not able to displace the "pridemaster" and take over a pride.
Manelessness might also be due to hormone levels, Kays said. High testosterone levels inhibit hair growth in human males and leads to male pattern baldness. Similarly, Tsavo male lions may be genetically predisposed to high levels of testosterone. The high hormone levels may also explain the heightened aggressive tendencies seen in these lions.
But the findings in Tsavo indicate that the maneless males are certainly not starved for female attention and actually command larger prides than maned lions.
It seems that "the Tsavo lions have a lot of tricks up their sleeve that will only become obvious as we study their behavior and ecology," Patterson added.
The results of the study were published online on April 11, 2002, in the Canadian Journal of Zoology.
I wouldn't say that I'm a maneless lion, well, not yet