Effeminate make-up in adolescent male lion

by | Mar 9, 2016 | Site Content

 
                                

       

 

Effeminate make-up in adolescent male lion  

 

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Panthera leo, adult female, photo © JRAWLS

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Panthera leo, adolescent male, photo © shankar s

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Panthera leo, adolescent male, photo in the Public Domain

 

Unlike the mature male, the adult female lion has a neck-flag consisting of pale fur contrasting with the dark back-of-ear. The adolescent male shows sexual mimicry of this feature while his mane grows. This reduces masculine intolerance from his father, delaying his eviction from his maternal group until he is capable of independence.
 
Robin and the Honey Badger, 14 March 2016
lioness neck flag
Panthera leo, adult female, photo © shankar s
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Panthera leo, adolescent male, photo © shankar s

                                             

                                           

                                            

 

 

 

i.e. more intensely pigmented than the normal colour-mor