5-SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS:

Backward-curved horny papillae cover the upper surface of the tongue;
these are useful both in holding onto meat and removing parasites during 
grooming. The roar of a lion can be heard up to five miles away and can be
most intimidating up close. Territorial roaring is usually heard an hour 
after sunset. When separated they roar to let each other know where they are; 
females often call their cubs by roaring. The mature male's mane not only
makes him appear larger but protects his throat from his mortal enemies-other 
marauding lions and the hyenas after his cubs or kill. 

6-INTERPRETIVE INFORMATION:

A lion is a digitigrade, or toe walker; that is his heel doesn't touch 
the ground. His loud roar is made possible by the cartilage in his throat having
ossified into bone (referred to as the Hyoid structure). This is true of all the
big cat or "roaring" species. The smaller cats with the softer throat structure 
can only meow.

7-STATUS IN WILD:

As a result of widespread persecution, cats in the wild have become one of
the most threataened major groups of land animals. Nevertheless, the African lion
numbered perhaps 200,000 individuals in 1991. They are generally protected even 
through some 150 humans have been mauled in the Gir National Park alone. Conversely
in the Skeleton Coast Park in West Africa's Namibia the lions are all gone. Some 
were killed outside park boundaries by livestock herdsmen; others were forced to 
leave by drought.