African lions are sexually dimorphic (with two distinct gender forms). Males are larger and have manes. Their fur is light tawny, with white on their belly and the inner side of the legs, while the back of their ears and their tail tip are black. The manes of African lions can be tawny to reddish-brown to black. Adult males usually have a dark mane on the head, neck, and shoulders, which offers protection to the neck during fights. Both sexes have a tuft of fur on the tip of the tail.

Listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources).

• CZS Conservation
• The Chicago Zoological Society administers the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Endangered Species Fund, which supports conservation-oriented research. The grant program attracts dozens of innovative research projects each quarter, which have included lion conservation.
• Lion Research Center. University of Minnesota