"Collective noun In linguistics, a collective noun refers to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are mundane and ""not"" specific to just one kind, such as the word ""group"", which is applied to ""people"" in the phrase ""a group of people"", but is also applied to ""dogs"" in the phrase ""a group of dogs"". Other collective nouns ""are specific"" to one kind, especially terms of venery, which identify specific groups of animals. For example, ""pride"" as a term of venery always refers to lions, never to dogs or cows. Similarly, a group"
"Groups of male lions are called ""coalitions"". Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females. Membership only changes with the births and deaths of lionesses, although some females leave and become nomadic. The average pride consists of around 15 lions, including several adult females and up to four males and their cubs of both sexes. Large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have been observed. The sole exception to this pattern is the Tsavo lion pride that always has just one adult male. Male cubs are excluded from their maternal pride when"
"acts of affection. There have also been observations of animals engaging in homosexual behaviors, as well as sex with dead animals and sex involving juveniles. Lions are known to engage in sex to create bonds and interact with each other. Lions live in a social group known as a pride that consists of 2–18 females and 1–7 males. The females found in these prides were born into the pride. The males enter the pride from other prides. The success of reproduction for each individual lion is dependent on the number of male lions found in their social group. Male lions"
"services to the group. Alternatively, there may be rewards associated with being a leader that fends off intruders; the rank of lionesses in the pride is reflected in these responses. The male or males associated with the pride must defend their relationship with the pride from outside males who may attempt to usurp them. Asiatic lion prides differ from African prides in group composition. Male Asiatic lions are solitary or associate with up to three males, forming a loose pride. Pairs of males rest and feed together, and display marking behaviour at the same sites. Females associate with up to"
"Lion The lion (""Panthera leo"") is a species in the family Felidae; it is a muscular, deep-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck and round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. The lion is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females with a typical weight range of for the former and for the latter. Male lions have a prominent mane, which is the most recognisable feature of the species. A lion pride consists of a few adult males, related females and cubs. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on"
"are the most well known wild cat that form very prominent colonies, known as prides. The social structure of these prides are very interesting. Within prides, the female lions play a crucial role. They form the center of the pride along with their young. They are also responsible for hunting and feeding the members of the pride. Male lions are in small numbers, about 2 - 5, are present in a pride and are around for reproduction and defensive purposes. The number of members within a pride stay constant. Young male and female lions only get to stay in the"
"12 other females, forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. They share large carcasses with each other but seldom share food with males. Female and male lions associate only when mating. Coalitions of males hold territory for a longer time than single lions. Males in coalitions of three or four individuals exhibit a pronounced hierarchy, in which one male dominates the others. Dominant males mate more frequently than their coalition partners; during a study carried out between December 2012 and December 2016, three females were observed switching mating partners in favour of the dominant male. The lion is a"
"populations in these LCUs ranged from 3,274 to 3,909 individuals between 2002 and 2012. Male Asiatic lions are solitary or associate with up to three males forming a loose pride. Pairs of males rest, hunt and feed together, and display marking behaviour at the same sites. Females associate with up to 12 females forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. They share large carcasses among each other, but seldom with males. Female and male lions usually associate only for a few days when mating, but rarely travel and feed together. In Pendjari National Park, groups of lions range from"
"names: ""P. l. leo"" for African lion populations and ""P. l. persica"" for the Asiatic lion population. In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised lion taxonomy, and recognises two subspecies based on results of phylogeographic research, namely: More than 190 lion samples were available for phylogeographic research, including eight wild lion samples from the Ethiopian Highlands. Three of them originated in the Ogaden Region, Gambela and Bale Mountains National Parks and clustered with lion samples from Chad and Cameroon. Five lion samples from other areas in Ethiopia clustered with lion samples from East Africa."
"pride and force the single male to retreat. Therefore, males cooperate to gain and defend access to females. Resident male alliances maintain access to females in that pride, and sire all offspring during their control of the pride. Solitary lions rarely gain access into coalitions; however, when they do they kill all resident cubs before beginning their tenure. Therefore, it is it of vital importance for the males’ reproductive success to be a member of a male coalition and defend females against intruding males. While it was originally believed that male lions formed groups of related individuals, it is now"
"people have immigrated and settled, especially in local Chinatowns. The lions are usually depicted in pairs. When used as statuary the pair would consist of a male leaning his paw upon an embroidered ball (in imperial contexts, representing supremacy over the world) and a female restraining a playful cub that is on its back (representing nurture). Guardian lions are referred to in various ways depending on language and context. In Chinese they are traditionally called simply ""shi"" (獅, Pinyin: shī) meaning lion—the word ""shi"" itself is thought to be derived from the Persian word ""šer"". Lions were first presented to"
"pride to make up numbers that have dwindled from death. Female lions that are kicked out of their original pride roam alone in search for territory to start her own pride or to find a pride low in numbers that will take her in. Females within a pride are better protected and this protection allows for better hunting efforts ensuring survival. Male lions that are kicked out usually stick together in groups and search for a female pride in need of males or they will compete with other males for their pride. Free living domestic cats tend to form small"
"longer time than single lions. Males in coalitions of three to four individuals exhibit a pronounced hierarchy with one male dominating the others. In general, lions prefer large prey species within a weight range of irrespective of their availability. Domestic cattle have historically been a major component of the Asiatic lions' diet in the Gir Forest. Inside the Gir Forest National Park, lions predominantly kill chital, sambar, nilgai, cattle, buffalo and less frequently also wild boar. They most commonly kill chital, which weighs only around . They prey on sambar deer when the latter descend from the hills during summer."
"leaders) of their animal group (such as Rex/Regina for the lions, Ulfric/Fenrir/Lupa for the wolves, or Nimir-Ra/Nimir-Raj for the leopards) also appear to have a metaphysical relationship with the entire group that owes them allegiance. This bond is both a strength and weakness, allowing the leader to make use of the group's collective energy and account for its membership remotely, but also exposing the entire group to being controlled or fed upon through the leader. It can also expose the leader to some measure of control or influence if one of his followers is sufficiently subverted. Body temperature spikes before"
"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. Lions are part of a group of exotic animals that have been central to zoo exhibits since the late 18th 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. Although many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are more than 1,000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and"
"promiscuous. However, the structures of the prides of African and Asiatic lions vary, with male Asiatic lions usually associating with females during times of mating, similar to tigers, and whereas Asiatic lionesses and tigresses may practice promiscuity to defend their cubs, African lionesses are believed not to do it for that purpose. Currently, India is the only country confirmed to have both wild lions and tigers. Though they do not share the same territory, they did in the past, and there is a project mentioned below that could lead to their meeting in the wild. Before the end of the"
"stated that swanmanes either do or do not have a hybrid form. The only forms exhibited have been human and full swan. Mentioned in ""Danse Macabre"", the werelions of St. Louis are a pride of mostly-submissives who were led by their Rex Joseph, Who in a sense turned his back on Anita and Anita turned her back on him. He ran away with his Regina leaving his pride alone for Haven to take control of. The name werelions use to refer to their groups. Groups of regular lions are also called prides. A given pride's king is its ""Rex,"" and"
"black patches, was described by Austen Henry Layard. Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about 20 hours per day. Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place. They spend an average of two hours a day walking and 50 minutes eating. The lion is the most social of all wild cat species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a group is called a ""pride""."
"more from kills than their coalition partners. Aggression between partners increases when coalitions are large, but kills are small. Asiatic lions mate foremost between September and January. Mating lasts three to six days. During these days, they usually do not hunt, but only drink water. Gestation lasts about 110 days. Litters comprise one to four cubs. Dominant males mate more frequently than their coalition partners. During a study carried out between December 2012 and December 2016, three females were observed switching mating partners in favour of the dominant male. The average interval between births is 24 months, unless cubs die"
"standardized and formalized during the Ming and Qing dynasties into more or less its present form. (pinyin:) sì shì sì, shí shì shí, shí sì shì shí sì, sì shí shì sì shí, sì shí sì zhī shí shī zì shì sǐ de. (4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14, 40 is 40, 44 stone lions are dead.) Chinese guardian lions Chinese guardian lions or Imperial guardian lions, often miscalled ""Foo Dogs"" in the West, are a common representation of the lion in imperial China. Chinese guardian lions are sometimes referred to in English as shishi, from the"
"Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Greek: γρύφων, ""grýphōn"", or γρύπων, ""grýpōn"", early form ""γρύψ"", ""grýps""; ) is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and sometimes an eagle's talons as its front feet. Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of birds by the Middle Ages the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, Griffins were known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions. In Greek and Roman texts, griffins and"
"is a derivation from "", the Sanskrit word for ""lion"" "" is attested as a Sanskrit name of the island of in the ""Bhagavata Purana"". The name is sometimes glossed as ""abode of lions"", and attributed to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island. According to the chronicle ""Mahavamsa"", written in Pali, Prince Vijaya and his entourage merged with two exotic tribes of ancient India present in Lanka, the Yakkha and Naga peoples. In the following centuries, there was substantial immigration from Eastern India (Kalinga, Magadha) which led to an admixture of features of Eastern Prakrits. The development"
"A group of vultures is called a kettle, committee or wake. The term ""kettle"" refers to vultures in flight, while ""committee"" refers to vultures resting on the ground or in trees. ""Wake"" is reserved for a group of vultures that are feeding. The word ""Geier"" (taken from the German language) does not have a precise meaning in ornithology; it is occasionally used to refer to a vulture in English, as in some poetry. The Old World vultures found in Africa, Asia, and Europe belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards, and hawks. Old World vultures find"
"over kills, particularly the males. Cubs suffer most when food is scarce but otherwise all pride members eat their fill, including old and crippled lions, which can live on leftovers. Large kills are shared more widely among pride members. An adult lioness requires an average of about of meat per day while males require about . Lions gorge themselves and eat up to in one session; if it is unable to consume all of the kill, it rests for a few hours before continuing to eat. On hot days, the pride retreats to shade with one or two males standing"
"about 118,000 years ago. It apparently broke up into haplotypes H5 and H6 within Africa, and then into H7 and H8 in West Asia. Results of genetic analyses indicate that lions in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa form distinct lion clades, which are more closely related to North African and Asiatic lions than to lions in Southern Africa and East Africa. Lion samples from North Africa and India clustered into a single clade. Analysis of phylogenetic data of 194 lion samples from 22 countries revealed that Central and West African lions form a phylogeographic group that probably"
"and filled all the land."" John Ray recorded a Scottish proverb, ""Gie a beggar a bed and he'll repay you with a Louse."" In Shakespeare's ""Troilus and Cressida"", Thersites compares Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, to a louse: ""Ask me not what I would be, if I were not Thersites; for I care not to be the louse of a lazar, so I were not Menelaus."" Louse Louse (plural: lice) is the common name for members of the order Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless insect. Lice are obligate parasites, living externally on warm-blooded hosts which include every species"
"Loon The loons (North America) or divers (Great Britain/Ireland) are a group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus Gavia, family Gaviidae and order Gaviiformes. Loons, which are the size of a large duck or a small goose, resemble these birds in shape when swimming. Like ducks and geese, but unlike coots (which are Rallidae) and grebes (Podicipedidae), the loon's toes are connected by webbing. The loons may be confused with the cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), which are not too distant relatives of divers, and like"
"with their cubs. They share large carcasses among each other, but seldom with males. Female and male lions usually associate only for a few days when mating, but rarely travel and feed together. Results of a radio telemetry study indicate that annual home ranges of male lions vary from in dry and wet seasons. Home ranges of females are smaller, varying between . During hot and dry seasons, they favour densely vegetated and shady riverine habitats, where prey species also congregate. Coalitions of males defend home ranges containing one or more female prides. Together, they hold a territory for a"
"phylogenetic studies were conducted to aid clarifying the taxonomic status of lion samples kept in museums and collected in the wild. Scientists analysed between 32 and 480 lion samples from up to 22 countries. They all agree that the lion species comprises two evolutionary groups, one in the northern and eastern parts of its historical range, and the other in Southern and East Africa that diverged between 245,000 and 50,000 years ago. They assume that tropical rainforest and the East African Rift constituted major barriers between the two groups. In a comprehensive study about the evolution of lions, 357 samples"
"prides, most lionesses are related to one another. If there is more than one dominant male, the group of alpha males are usually related. Two lines are then being ""line bred"". Also, in some populations, such as the Crater lions, it is known that a population bottleneck has occurred. Researchers found far greater genetic heterozygosity than expected. In fact, predators are known for low genetic variance, along with most of the top portion of the trophic levels of an ecosystem. Additionally, the alpha males of two neighboring prides can be from the same litter; one brother may come to acquire"
"support of the pride, though she was later accepted back into the main Marsh Pride). This pride has only appeared in the more recent series. The main lions in this pride are Cheza and Sala. These two are young cubs that are growing up together despite having different parents. They were one of the main features of the 2004 series. As adults, they have since joined forces with another young lion from the Ridge pride and have taken over a nearby pride. Another former member of this pride was Solo, the only survivor of a litter of 3 or 4"
"(2 – 3 males) or lionesses (2 – 4 females) is more than a match for a single tiger or tigress (see ). Therefore it would appear that in order for Asiatic lions to survive in an area with Bengal tigers, the lions would have to be translocated there as intact groups rather than as individuals. Reginald Innes Pocock (1939) mentioned that some people had the opinion that the tiger played a role in the near-extinction of the Indian lion, but he dismissed this view as 'fanciful'. According to him, there was evidence that tigers inhabited the Subcontinent, before lions."
"a group of predators cooperates to kill prey. This makes it possible to kill creatures larger than those they could overpower singly; for example, hyenas, and wolves collaborate to catch and kill herbivores as large as buffalo, and lions even hunt elephants. It can also make prey more readily available through strategies like flushing of prey and herding it into a smaller area. For example, when mixed flocks of birds forage, the birds in front flush out insects that are caught by the birds behind. Spinner dolphins form a circle around a school of fish and move inwards, concentrating the"