Previously, lions had a wider range of habitats. Even at the beginning of the Middle Ages, they could be found throughout Africa, except for tropical forests and deserts. They met in the Middle East and Iran. They also lived in the south of Europe, including the modern south of Russia (rising somewhere up to the 45th parallel). In North-West and North India, the lion was a habitual predator. But over time, due to the persecution of man (for self-defense and hunting trophies) and the destruction of his habitual habitat, the lions lost a significant part of their range. In Europe, the lions were completely exterminated. And Africa they are preserved only to the south of the Sahara, and its habitat is now broken. In Asia, it is also virtually exterminated: the only small group lives in the Gir Forest in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Lions have a very distinctive appearance. It is the representative of one of the few predators, who have pronounced sexual demorphism. Males are much larger than females and have manes. This mane in some subspecies is highly developed and can cover the shoulders, part of the back and chest. Usually the lion has a yellow-gray color of various shades. The mane often coincides with the color of the skin, but sometimes it is darker, and in rare cases, there are lions with black manes. It is by the color of manes that the lion’s subspecies is largely determined. If you do not count manes, then the wool on the body of a predator is short, and only at the tip of the tail is a brush of long hair.
