IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Ganatra, K.; Soni, V.C.; Raval, P.P. | |
| Bone age assessment of various skull bones and teeth of the Gir lion (_panthera leo persica_) | |
| 1990 Zoo's Print (5): 40-42 | |
For understanding of the population structure and dynamics the knowledge of sex and age classes of the population is very important for a wildlife investigator and manager as well. However, determining age in mammals is somewhat less precise because there appears to be more variation between individual mammals (Taber. 1971). The variations are also registered between left and right sides of the same skull probably because of asymmetrical loading during mastication (Greaves, 1985). The methods used to estimate the age in mammals include the tooth development, maturation of long bones, changes in baculum (or penis), growth of horns, weights, and the weight of the lens of the eye (Table, 1971). Mills (1982) has determined age of the brown hyaena on incremental growth lines in the teeth. Primarily, present work was planned to carry out the studies on the variations in the skulls of Gir Lions present at Sakkarbaug, Junagadh. Attempts have been obtained by measurements of various parameters of skulls with chronological age estimated by the Sakkarbaug Zoo staff. Lack of material on this particular aspect has always hampered the useful efforts in this direction; as in case of Pocock (1930, 1935) and Todd. This work is no exception. In spite of the poor number of skulls, the efforts to estimate the chronological age came to reliable approximations. |
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