Scientific name of lion is Panthera leo. The lion is a predatory beast, it is one of the four representatives of the genus panther belonging to the subfamily of large cats. Lion is the second largest of the living big cats, second only to the tiger. The weight of male lions sometimes reaches 250 kg.
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.
