How is the taxonomy of African lions classified?

The African lion (Panthera leo) is the largest cat species in Africa, yet the populations of the well loved lion, the 'king of the jungle', have dramatically declined by nearly half in just two decades. Lion (Panthera leo) - Panthera lineage Male Lion (Panthera leo) by Kevin Pluck (Flickr: The King.) [CC BY 2. read more

Taxonomy currently used by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group: Panthera leo persica—Asian subpopulations Panthera leo leo—African subpopulations. The latest published phylogeographical study of lions shows that the traditional split between Asian and African Lions as distinct subspecies is untenable (Barnett et al. 2014). read more

African Lions are carnivorous in nature and eat meat. They hunt together and share their food amongst one another. The lion is the only wild cat that is considered to be social and to live in large groups. read more