Lion vs Lioness
Lion and lioness are very distinct, and the sexual dimorphism is more pronounced among adults than in cubs. They are morphologically different from each other in their body sizes as well as features, in addition to the genital organs. The physiology, ecology, and behavioural ecology (aka ethology) are important aspects to concentrate in order to understand the difference between a lion and lioness.
Lion
Lion is said to be the king of the jungle, and they are the most prominent in their territory. Lions live in groups called prides and always a male lion is the most prominent member of the pride. Males are large and heavy with lengths reach 250 centimetres and bodyweights reach more than 250 kilograms. They have a long and prominent mane that is unique to the male lions. In fact, the graceful mane is the first visual sign to understand that it is a lion and not a lioness. The presence of their mane is an advantage for them as a mean of protection from the enemies and in intimidating the others. In the pride, males are mainly responsible for mating with the females in heat and protecting the territories from the other neighbouring prides. The dominance of the males keeps the intruders away from their seriously maintained territorial lands. However, the physically and mentally strong bachelor males sometimes manage to obtrude into a territory and challenge the dominant male and fight with each other to death; the winner of such fights becomes the ruler of the particular pride and takes over the females after that. The lions in the pride do not go for hunting, but they are the first to be treated with the meat from the freshly killed prey. Lions sleep during most of the day and they yawn more often than not showing their extra-large canines. However, there are only a couple of adult males live in a pride and the sexually matured males are chased out as they grow, which prevents the inbreeding.
Lioness
Lioness or the female lion is the most actively working member of the lion pride. Lioness never grows a mane, and it could be used to identify a particular individual as a female. In addition, the small size compared to other members could be another identification guide, as a lioness ranges from 140 to 175 centimetres in length and their maximum bodyweight could be 190 kilograms. Their slender body supports the lioness to be agile and flexible, which make her the primary hunter of any pride. Sometimes, lionesses go for group hunting in case of a large size prey. They usually kill the prey, bring it to the pride, and serve the dominant males to eat first. Usually, the lionesses in one particular pride are related to each other via bloodlines, as the females are not chased out of the pride as they sexually mature. The sexual maturity for females is reached after around four years of age. Lionesses are polyoestrous females, as they can come to heat in any time of the year. That means they mate with the dominant lions of the pride throughout the year.
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What is the difference between Lion and Lioness? • Lions are considerably larger and heavier than lionesses. • Lion grows a graceful mane but not the lioness. • Lion maintains the territory boundaries very seriously but not the lioness. • Lioness is the primary hunting member of any pride while lion is the primary feeder of those hunted food. • Sexually matured lions are chased away from the prides while lionesses are kept in the pride. • Lionesses in a pride are related via bloodlines, but the lions are not related. • Males often engage in mortal combats with other males, but not the females do combat often.
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