American Lion

The American Lion (Panthera atrox), is a species of big cat, closely related to the African Lion and Cave Lion, native to much of the continental U.S. It went extinct around 9,000 BCE but was brought back to life via cloning and temporal dislocation technologies by the Greene Foundation in the late 2000's.

Description

The American Lion is a large cat, measuring 5 ft 3 in to 8 ft 2 in from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail and stood 3.9 ft at the shoulder and an average weight of 564 lb for males, though one individual living at the Minnesota Zoo, named 'Simba' was recently weighed in at 745 lbs.

The American Lion has a similar coloration to the African Lion, being a tan color, but it is redder around the face area, and has more noticeable rosettes around the mid-section. American Lions also lack the large manes of their African counterparts.

Ecology

Being large and formidable predators, the Greene Foundation has taken extreme precautions when reintroducing this species to the wild. The only American Lions in the wild can be found in Yellowstone National Park, Badlands National Park and Alaska.

The American Lion inhabits savannas and grasslands like the African Lion. In the colder parts of their range, they use caves for shelter from the cold and will even line their dens with grass or leaves, as the Siberian tiger does.

American Lions prey on deer, horses, camels, tapirs, American bison, mammoths, and other large hoofed mammals.

Conservation

American Lions are exhibited at the Minnesota Zoo, San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Maple Hills Zoo, Green City Zoo and Lake Superior Shores Wildlife Park.