In the African savannah, the lion stood at the top of the food chain and became the overlord of the steppe. However, it is this majestic lion that some people dislike it and think that it is a canine. Most people who have this view do not like lions, or are obsessed with tigers and use lions to make fun of them. Lion and tiger fighting has always been the focus of people's debate, some people think that the tiger is the real king of the hundred beasts, while others think that the majestic Lion King is better, so they have been chattering. So, are lions really canines?
Some people think that lions are canines, and one of the most important reasons is that lions have a social habit of living. Among cats, tigers and leopards are solitary, and only canines have a social habit, such as wolves. So some people divide lions into canines according to their habits, so is this really the case?
In fact, according to the life habits of the division of family genus, pure nonsense, the reason why the lion lives in groups, is not determined by its genes, but by the living environment. Lions live on the African savannah, because of their large size and relatively large food, so when preying on prey, small herbivores are not in their recipes, and only large herbivores can be caught to meet their food intake.
However, lionesses do not have the ability to hunt large herbivores alone (such as wildebeest, buffalo, etc.), and male lions are not suitable for hunting due to their large size. In order to reduce the risk, lions will cooperate to round up large herbivores in a group manner. They make full use of the strengths of the team and carry out a clear division of labor cooperation.
Lonely tigers and leopards, living in the mountains and forests, are not suitable for teamwork and pay more attention to covert raids. And in their habitat, there are enough small and medium-sized prey to make it more difficult to escape in the jungle, so tigers and leopards hunt alone, and the success rate is often higher, and there is no need to live in groups at all.
In addition to facilitating the rounding up of large herbivores, there is also an important reason for lions to live in groups, which is to resist the invasion of "second brother" hyenas and African wild dog groups. Although male lions rely on their large size and are not afraid of other carnivores, lionesses cannot fight against hyenas and African wild dog groups alone, so they choose to live in groups for more efficient prey, and second, for safety reasons, to resist attacks from other carnivores, grab food, etc.
The living environment of tigers is much better than that of lions. Although there are many other carnivores, such as leopards, bears, and wolves. But leopards are solitary animals, small and less threatening to tigers. Although the bear is large, it is an omnivore, and 60% of it is mainly vegetarian, so it does not threaten tigers. Although the wolf pack is large, but the size is too small, the tiger has the absolute strength to kill the wolf in a second, once the wolf pack has a companion who is bitten and mutilated, the other wolves will be frightened to flee around. Therefore, the wolves did not dare to disturb the tigers.
Lions live in groups, not because of genetic reasons at all, but because of their living environment. It is pure nonsense to divide the family according to the habits of life, and there are also solitary animals in the canine family, such as foxes. However, it has also been suggested that the skulls of lions resemble those of canines, unlike cats. In fact, this is also unreliable, the lion head is rounder, the snout is shorter but more open. The difference is that canines have a longer head and a slender and narrow snout. Another is that lions, like other cats, have highly degenerated molars and are not suitable for chewing. The phrase "dogs gnaw on bones" has been heard by everyone, and the molars of canines are generally more developed and can chew bones.
In addition, lions, like other cats, have barbs on their tongues and freely retractable claws, which are traits that canines do not have. So, don't say that the lion is a canine, it is a veritable feline.