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This lion with flowing mane sits tall as the wind sweeps its hair across the savanna. Download the free PDF and try a whole range of golds and browns.
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Download PDFPrintA seated lion facing forward with a long mane blowing to the right, an acacia tree, soft hills, tall grass and a rock.
Mix golds, reds and dark browns through the wavy locks.
Draw the lion with a new hairstyle and pick your favorite.
In the Tsavo region of Kenya, many male lions have very little mane or almost none.
A lion with flowing mane is carrying around a sort of resume, since all that hair gives away valuable information about him. It's what lets you tell males from females at a glance, which is rare among cats, and its shape and color say a lot.
Hormones play a big role. Testosterone drives growth as a male matures, which is why a mane appears in his youth and keeps developing for several years. Injured or poorly fed lions can end up with a shabbier one, so a thick mane is proof of good condition.
Researchers in the Serengeti ran a clever test using life-size lion dummies wearing different manes. Females were drawn to the darker ones, while males avoided dummies with long, dark manes. The message seems clear enough: length suggests a strong fighter and darkness suggests good health.
People long assumed the mane mainly protected the neck in fights, but today its role as a signal gets more attention. Wearing one comes at a price, because it's hot. Lions with darker manes deal with higher body temperatures, and the local climate also affects how long a mane grows.
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