Lion Panthera Leo

The most sociable members of the cat family, lions live in "prides" of related females, a characteristic also found in the domestic cat.

The lion is restricted to Africa, although a small population of Asiatic lions exists in the Gir Forest of northwest India.

Expansion of agriculture has forced several subspecies into extinction, although lions recently found in the Addis Ababa zoo in Ethiopia may be survivors of the extinct Barbary lion of North Africa.