Charles Darwin himself used the lion's mane as an example of evolution. He explained that it developed as a means of protection during fighting. He was quite correct that lions fight much more than other cats. read more
The problem with theories as to why lions have manes is that there are some subgroups of the species panthero leo which also fight because they live in prides. Yet the males do not have manes such as those living in Tsavo. We tend to think of all lions as like those in Serengeti because of all the wildlife studies done there. read more