New findings about African lions

Recent research into Africa lions has revealed that there is a considerable genetic difference between lions in the east and south of Africa and those in the west and central regions of the continent.

Surprisingly, the lions living further west appear to have more in common genetically with Asiatic lions than with those living in the eastern and southern regions of Africa.



It has long been known that lions watched by safari-goers to East African countries like Kenya and Tanzania appear to vary from their more westerly counterparts in several ways. The former are generally larger and stronger and have bigger manes. But the new evidence now confirms the difference at a biological level, with speculation that the two groups of lions might even be different species.



East African lions are larger and thick-maned
than their western counterparts