The lion is simply a large wild cat. The scientific lion name is a Panthera Leo. These animals are native to the Africa, more specifically the Sahara Desert. Lions are one of the few big cats that are somewhat social. There are number of different species of lions but all fall into the same family of Panthera Leo. There are very few people who have lions as pets, but even in zoos, the keepers have special lion names that they like to use.



Naming lions and groups of lions is an important task in science. The fact that a group of animals has a family name is similar to how humans have family names. The purpose of this is to track evolution and genetics and to distinguish one from the other. For example, if lions had never been classified as a specific family of large cats, people might assume that tigers are part of the same group. There may be some connection between the groups but the scientific name sets all groups of animals apart.

Every animal at the zoo has a name and there are really popular or famous zoo lions around the world. One such lion is Marjon. Marjon can be found at the Kabul Zoo. Marjon was born in 1976 and he was given to the Kabul Zoo shortly after his birth. He was not alone in the zoo; he was joined by a lioness named Chucha.

Another famous lion is a lion by the name of Christian. Christian was purchased by two Australian men who were living in London in 1969. The lion was purchased from Harrods department store. Both men and their families cared for this animal and it grew to be their pet until it grew too large for them to keep. Christian was later sent back to Kenya where he was rehabilitated back in the wild at the Kora National Reserve. A movie was filmed about the journey that Christian took from England to Kenya.

A popular lion name amongst movie people is Leo the Lion. Leo is the mascot or MGM studios in Hollywood. Leo is featured on the film company's production logo. There have been five different lions used as the logo for the company since 1924. Leo was the fifth lion to be used. Leo was used on all films that were filmed between the years of 1957 to 1983 as well as on the Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Leo was taken out in three films and he was dubbed by a still frame lion and there was no roar at the beginning of the film, this was not a huge success.

While most of the lions used in productions were male there are some lionesses that cannot be forgotten. One such lioness is Mara. Mara was best known for her role in the movie Born Free in 1966. Mara was born in 1965 and was abandoned by her mother. Irene Grindley took it upon herself to care for the cub. It was first thought that Mara would stay with Irene for just a few days but she soon became a permanent fixture. She was hand reared and fully domesticated. As she grew larger Irene became aware of the fact that Mara had to be relocated. Mara went to the Animal Orphanage at the entrance to the Nairobi National Park.