FAKE lions have helped unravel the long-standing mystery of the significance of the lion鈥檚 mane. It turns out that the darker a male鈥檚 mane, the better he鈥檒l be as a mate.
The origin of the mane has long puzzled biologists. Some believe the tough, shaggy hair acts as protection in fights with other lions. Yet scrapping lions don鈥檛 particularly target their opponent鈥檚 head and shoulders. And other cat species also fight, but don鈥檛 have manes. 鈥淣o one really knew what the mane was for,鈥� says Peyton West at the University of Minnesota鈥檚 Lion Research Center.
To investigate, West and her colleague Craig Packer planted life-size dummy lions near males and females in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Male lions were less intimidated by dummies with lighter, less shaggy manes. Females preferred the opposite, suggesting that they saw males with darker manes as better prospective mates (Science, vol 297, p 1339).
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The pair also found that males with dark manes have more testosterone and are better able to defend their families. One-year-old cubs are more likely to survive until they are two if they are born to darker-maned males. But a darker mane comes at a cost 鈥� it makes lions hotter. West says it is likely that only the toughest can put up with this burden. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very exciting contribution to the study of sexual selection,鈥� says zoologist Tim Birkhead at the University of Sheffield.