The Masai Lion (Panthera leo melanochaita, formerly Panthera leo nubica) is a large, East African feline. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon (Xbox).
Description[]
The Masai Lion, also known as the East African Lion, is a population of Southern Lion that lives in East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. In the Maasai culture, hunting a Masai Lion used to be a rite of passage for young warriors, though this tradition is no longer practiced, the Maasai people will still occasionally kill lions to protect their livestock.
The Masai lion's mane can vary in length, thickness and colour depending on the health of the animal and the climate the lion lives in. Masai lions living in colder climates sporting thicker, longer manes, while those in warmer, wetter climates tend to have thinner, shorter manes. Masai lions living in the Tsavo region of Kenya having the thinnest manes or even sometimes even lacking a mane entirely, being referred to as maneless lions.
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised lion taxonomy, lumping the Masai lion in with several other subspecies, including the Katanga and Transvaal lions into the single subspecies of Panthera leo melanochaita, or Southern Lion.
Gallery[]
