This would be the male, Chandra. His mane seems to have almost completely have gone something that I have never seen in Asian Lions before, his brother Subu (?) didn't have that problem he was a stunning male. As Chandra is infertile could this have something to do with his mane loss?
I have seen old male Lions in other zoos which look like Museum specimens too. I remember two old males in Frankfurt Zoo whose their heads were all motheaten-looking and balding just like a badly-preserved museum exhibit though they were still very much alive.
Chandra isn't infertile, he has a low sperm count which is why Bristol moved him on. You'll probably find his mane loss is down to a combination of old age (he's 18 this year) and hormonal changes. He isn't crossed eyed like it appears in the photo either (or at least he wasn't when I last saw him a couple of years ago)
For comparison, this is him in 2005 at Bristol. His mane (although it was certinley thicker than it appears now) has never been that thick compared to a lot of the younger stock within the EEP. This may have something to do with the younger animals gradually growing out a thicker mane to adapt to the European climate. If you take a look at some pictures of male Asiatic Lions that are housed in Indian zoos (or the newly imported male at Dvur Kralove) then you'll see there's a major difference when looking at them, with the thinner mane which is a charectistic of this sub-species and the EEP lot which appear to have gradually adapted with the manes becoming thicker. Chandra was one* of the first cubs to be born in the EEP program (Chester, 1994) which could explain why he has retained the traditional shorter, thinner mane of his wild cousins File:Bristol.zoo.lion.yawns.arp.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
He is pretty old for a male Zoo lion. I think your assessment is probably pretty accurate too. In Gir Forest the thick thorn scrub keeps their manes thin by 'grooming' as they pass through it. In captivity without this their manes are heavier and probably develop further, like African lions, in response to colder climates.
Last time I saw Chandra he still had a mane and also he looked absolutely enormous but that may be because you can get so close to them when they are indoors at the CWP.
i saw him a few months back and his mane was definitly thinning, im sure its down to old age when he was at bristl his mane was amazing, but he had mane, he is an old man i believe he is nearing up to 18-19 that is OLD!!!
hes a character of a lion, hes the best to get picture off, one of my favourites, and to me hes has never been crossed eyes, you must have taken him on one his "off" days lol
