Emitting a roar, the lion wrinkles his lips and sticks out his chin, pointing his mouth towards the horizon. At the same time, his whole body methodically rises and falls, following the rhythm of the sounds he produces. In the African night, the roar of a lion can be heard over a distance of up to 8 km. It fascinates and terrifies people at the same time. And yet the lion does not roar to please us. To whom is the message of the king of beasts addressed?

Leos maintain connections with each other through a highly complex system of social interactions. A pride of lions occupies an average area of ​​50 square meters. km; individual members of the pride find themselves in very different parts of their territory. However, members of hostile prides always roam nearby. They can kill a single lion invading someone else's space, if, of course, they take him by surprise. In this regard, the ability to distinguish enemies from friends becomes vitally important for lions. Like many other species that lead a group lifestyle based on the “disintegration-unification” principle, lions maintain contacts at a distance using sound communication. Moreover, the limit of audibility of sound signals probably exceeds the limit of audibility for humans. The roar of a lion consists of a series of sound cycles: slow series of long, low roars are replaced by rapid sequences of clear short roars. Both male and female lions roar, but the male's voice sounds much stronger and lower in tone.

The roar of a lion, carried over vast distances in the open saunas of East Africa, is a formidable warning to potential border violators. He says that the territory is occupied and will be defended. Although lions most often roar after sunset, roaring at other times of the day means that the pride has just devoured its prey

Lions roar at night, when there is silence around, and the lions themselves are active. Most young males must go through a stage of loneliness, during which they try not to attract attention, avoid dominant males and remain silent, hearing the roars of lions from established prides, informing their neighbors of their presence. However, having settled in their own area and marked the territory, young lions also begin to roar. Roaring lions respond to each other: it was this form of behavior that became the basis of research by scientists who used recordings of lions' roars in order to understand the meaning of the various sounds made by animals. Using high-quality sound-reproducing equipment, the researchers played recorded roars and growls of lions living in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, and then recorded and analyzed their reactions to what they heard.

The roar of lions gives females confidence. Raising cubs is hard work, and lionesses have to rely on luck and invest a lot of effort in raising their offspring. The males of the pride spend little time with the cubs, but at the same time they are vitally interested in the survival of their offspring, so they constantly patrol the territory, protecting it from the invasion of strangers who pose a mortal threat to the cubs. When a lioness hears the night resounding with the roars of the fathers of her cubs, she feels calm knowing that her world is safe. On the contrary, the roar of a group of unfamiliar males in close proximity to the lioness alerts her that something terrible has happened.
In all situations where the roar of resident males was played for a group of mothers and cubs, the females showed a very weak reaction. However, from the roar of the males of the neighboring pride, the lionesses became excited and either growled at the loudspeaker, or collected the cubs and ran away. When the roar of a neighboring group of females was played for the lionesses, the mothers reacted as if they saw competitors in front of them. they confidently approached the loudspeaker, ready to attack.
In addition, lionesses could determine the number of roaring animals by sound and choose the appropriate tactics to respond. The reaction to the roar of a single male stranger depended on the number of lionesses. A single lioness approached the loudspeaker very rarely, a pair of lionesses approached it half the time, and three lionesses did so almost every time. When the sounds of the roar of single animals were replaced by the roar of three individuals, groups of three females reacted to this in the same way as single females reacted to the roar of other single animals: four lionesses acted in a similar way to how two lionesses behaved in the previous situation, and the reaction of five lionesses coincided with the reaction of three females to the roar of a single individual. Such a constant and predictable reaction of lions gives serious grounds for asserting that lions are capable of counting; they can simultaneously estimate the number of both enemies and partners.
Thus, having heard a roar, lions can determine who makes it: male or female, enemy or friend; they can also tell if they are outnumbered by the roaring group.

In addition to the roar used to mark territory, lions and lionesses have at least eight other types of vocalizations, each of which is used for a specific purpose.

The lioness looks after cubs of different ages from her pride; she is ready to react at any moment to the appearance of an unexpected alien. Hearing sobbing nearby, she will instantly choose the optimal tactics of behavior: either enter into a fight, or run away, or simply calmly remain in place.

Thanks to the research, it was possible to learn a lot about the reaction of these animals to each other's roars, but scientists still had to understand how lions identify the voices of their fellow tribesmen. Some lions have creaky intonations, others have a clear baritone, in addition, lions can change the intonation of their roar depending on the reasons that caused it. So, the most impressive sounds that can be heard in the animal kingdom are filled with deep meaning, the meaning of which we are only beginning to comprehend.

Lions are big, lions are impressive. In addition, they are constantly threatened by hunters and habitat loss. But despite all this, there are at least seven reasons why we should be glad that these animals still exist.

It is still not known why lions roar

Only some types of cats, mostly large ones, can roar - these are lions, tigers, jaguars and so on, since they have a special structure in their throats that allows them to make these loud and unusual sounds. It is believed that lions use roars to communicate, especially when it needs to be done over a long distance. However, it is still not known why the growl of these animals is so low and deep. There are a large number of assumptions, each of which is based on different points of view - some scientists say that this is due to the open spaces where lions live, others explain everything by the low frequency of the lion's voice.

Lion's mane

Male lions are unique creatures in the entire feline breed, as they are the only ones that grow a large woolly mane around their necks. The fur in the mane grows to approximately 23 centimeters and can come in a variety of colors, from white to black. It can also cover the head, neck, shoulders and even the chest of a lion. For a long time it was believed that the mane protected the lion during fights with other males. However, there is another reason why lions have a mane - it serves as a kind of sexual identifier for lionesses, which signals the health and masculinity of the male. The darker the mane, the more testosterone in the lion’s body, the longer it will live and the faster it will recover from injuries.

Lions can count

It turns out that lions have a rudimentary ability to count. When a pride hears the sound of a lion approaching, two or three lionesses are sent to meet it. But if you hear that two lions are approaching at once, four or five animals already go towards you. Moreover, it is likely that the lions are somehow constantly aware of how many members of their pride are nearby, as well as how many strangers are nearby.

Funny faces

When a lion smells something unusual, he wrinkles his nose, bares his teeth, and clenches his jaw, which changes the “cooking” of his muzzle. This phenomenon is known as the Flehmen reaction - all cats inhale odors through their nostrils and hold them inside for a few seconds. Some other animals also act in this way, such as horses. This behavior helps transmit the smell to a special organ located in the upper part of the lion's mouth. This is the vomeronasal organ, also called Jacobson's organ, and is responsible for recognizing different elements of smell.

Lions gather in "street gangs"

Lions are the only felines that always gather in groups called prides and live together on a permanent basis. Throughout Asia and Africa, many prides of varying sizes can be found, usually consisting of one or more males, as well as a large number of females and cubs. However, the reasons for this still remain unclear. Most scientists believe that lionesses most often hunt together in order to surround the prey and make the task easier for themselves. But there is still no concrete confirmation of the connection between the hunting success of lions and their cohabitation. It is also worth noting that lions gather in prides in order to more reliably protect their territory.

Lions have unclear origins

People have been aware of the existence of lions literally since the dawn of humanity; the ancestors of modern people were forced to live side by side with these big cats in Africa. Despite this, details of where lions originated only began to become clearer in 2014. Research has shown that the ancient ancestors of modern lions lived on Earth 124 thousand years ago. Even then, there was a division into two species, one of which still lives in East and Southern Africa, and the other in West Africa and India. The second species, by the way, is now under threat of extinction. This means that half of the genetic diversity of lions could disappear from the face of the Earth.

The mysterious fate of some lions

There are a number of subspecies of lions, some of which are quite mysterious. For example, Asiatic lions are a subspecies that lives in western India and neighbors local farmers who have a very positive attitude towards such neighbors. Another subspecies, the Barbary lion, is one of the most mysterious large predators in existence - due to its impressive appearance and the uncertainty of its fate. They were once very numerous, living in pairs or small groups, and had much more impressive manes and distinct skull shapes. But today these lions hold the record for loss of numbers. So far, there is not even accurate data that these lions survived at all - already in 1942 it was reported that there were very few of them left.

Emitting a roar, the lion wrinkles its lips and sticks out its chin, pointing its mouth towards the horizon. His whole body rises and falls methodically, following the rhythm of the sounds he makes. In the African night, the roar of a lion can be heard over a distance of up to 8 km. It fascinates and terrifies people at the same time. And yet the lion does not roar to please us. To whom is the message of the king of beasts addressed?

Leos maintain connections with each other through a highly complex system of social interactions. A pride of lions covers an average area of ​​50 square meters. km; individual members of the pride find themselves in very different parts of their territory. However, members of hostile prides are always wandering around. They can kill a single lion invading someone else's space, if, of course, they take him by surprise. In this regard, the ability to distinguish enemies from friends becomes vitally important for lions. Like many other species that lead a group lifestyle based on the “disintegration-unification” principle, lions maintain contacts at a distance using sound communication. Moreover, the limit of audibility of sound signals probably exceeds the limit of audibility for humans. A lion's roar consists of a series of sound cycles: slow series of long, low roars followed by rapid sequences of clear, short roars. Both male and female lions roar, but the male's voice sounds much stronger and lower in tone.

The roar of a lion, carried over vast distances in the open savannahs of East Africa, is a dire warning to potential trespassers. He says that the territory is occupied and will be defended. Although lions most often roar after sunset, roaring at other times of the day means that the pride has just devoured its prey.

Lions roar at night, when there is silence around, and the lions themselves are active. Most young males must go through a solitary stage, during which they try to keep a low profile, avoid dominant males, and remain silent as lions from established prides roar to announce their presence to their neighbors. However, having settled in their own area and marking the territory, young lions also begin to roar. Roaring lions respond to each other: it is this form of behavior that has become the basis of research by scientists who have used recordings of lion roars in order to understand the meaning of the various sounds made by the animals. Using high-quality sound-reproducing equipment, the researchers played filmed roars and growls of lions living in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, and then recorded and analyzed their reactions to what they heard.

The roar of lions gives females confidence. Raising cubs is hard work, and lionesses have to rely on luck and put a lot of effort into raising their offspring. The males of the pride spend little time with the cubs, but at the same time they are vitally interested in the survival of their offspring, so they constantly patrol the territory, protecting it from the invasion of strangers who pose a mortal threat to the cubs. When a lioness hears the night resounding with the roars of the fathers of her cubs, she feels calm knowing that her world is safe. On the contrary, the roar of a group of unfamiliar males in the immediate vicinity of the lioness alerts her that something terrible has happened.

In addition to the roar used to mark territory, lions and lionesses have at least eight other types of vocalizations, each of which is used for a specific purpose. In the photograph, a lioness can be seen lying on an exposed rock outcrop, calling to her lost cubs.

In all situations in which the roar of resident males was played for a group of mothers and cubs, the females showed a very weak response. However, from the roar of the males of the neighboring pride, the lionesses became excited and either growled at the loudspeaker or collected the cubs and ran away. When the roar of a neighboring group of females was played for the lionesses, the mothers reacted as if they saw competitors in front of them: they confidently approached the loudspeaker, ready to attack.

In addition, lionesses could determine the number of roaring animals by sound and choose the appropriate tactics for response behavior. The reaction to the roar of a single male stranger depended on the number of lionesses. A single lioness approached the loudspeaker very rarely, a pair of lionesses approached it half the time, and three lionesses did so almost every time. When the roars of single animals were replaced by the roars of three individuals, groups of three females responded in the same way as single females reacted to the roars of other single lions; four lionesses acted similarly to how two lionesses behaved in the previous situation, and the reaction of five lionesses coincided with the reaction of three females to the roar of a single individual. Such a constant and predictable reaction of lions gives serious grounds for asserting that lions are capable of counting; they can simultaneously estimate the number of both enemies and partners.

A lioness looks after cubs of different ages from her pride; she is ready to react at any moment to the appearance of an unexpected alien. Hearing a growl nearby, she will instantly choose the optimal tactics of behavior: either engage in a fight, or run away, or simply calmly remain in place.

Thus, having heard a roar, lions can determine who makes it: male or female, enemy or friend; they can also tell if they are outnumbered by the roaring group.

Thanks to the research, it was possible to learn a lot about the reaction of these animals to each other's roars, but scientists still had to understand how lions identify the voices of their fellow tribesmen. Some lions have creaky intonations, others have a clear baritone, in addition, lions can change the intonation of their roar depending on the reasons that caused it. So, the most impressive sounds that can be heard in the animal kingdom are filled with deep meaning, the meaning of which we are only beginning to comprehend.