What does a lion mane represent?
Consequently, what does a lion's mane mean?
Much like the defining features on many animals, a lion's mane is all about attracting the ladies. A century or two ago, biologists like Charles Darwin postulated that lions grew a thick mane of hair around their necks to protect that vulnerable area from attacks by other lions.
Herein, what is the hair of a lion called?
But lions are the only big cats that have a lot of bushy hair around their face and neck called a mane. It's only the adult male lions, too. Female lions (also known as lionesses) don't have manes. There's a reason the lion is called “king of the jungle,” and that's because they are at the top of the food chain.
Some researchers suggested that lions lost their manes because they were snagged too many times in Tsavo's ubiquitous thorn scrub. Others argued that Tsavo's aggressive lions have unusually high testosterone levels, known to cause male pattern baldness in humans.