• Question: How many differences are between a human and a lion?

    Asked by Roberto1 to Rupert, Ellen on 14 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 14 Mar 2017:

      Lions are similar to humans in that we are both mammals so we share certain amounts of DNA but I am not sure how much DNA we share. The lion genome was mapped in 2013 (or at least a paper was produced around that time) so scientists are probably able to identify similarities in terms of % DNA shared… I just don’t know what it is, sorry!

    • Photo: Rupert Marshall

      Rupert Marshall answered on 14 Mar 2017:

      There are lots of things the same between humans and lions: we are mammals, we have mouths and noses, we communicate with sound and vision, we live in family groups. But there are lots of differences too – lions walk on 4 legs, walk on 2, female lions live in group but are taken over by groups of male lions from time to time, human adults tend to live alone or in pairs with their offspring. Both sleep for part of the day. In terms of behaviour it is of the details which make the difference between species.

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