Welcome to the third Mapula Lodge lion videos that I have recently introduced. This video covers the Lion's Flehmen response - how male lions check the sexual status of the females. For the remainder of the Mapula Lodge lion videos, click on the appropriate link below:
Mapula Lodge Flehmen Response
When the female does start to move off she urinates on a bush. Pheromones present in her urine likely indicate her reproductive status.
In this video you can see the male lion has come to scent the urine and grimaces, exposing his teeth by lifting up his lips. This is known as the Flehmen Response, or simply flehming, and is done to allow the pheromones to be detected by the vomero-nasal organ using ducts located between the nose and mouth cavity.
Lion performing Flehmen Response to check the pheromones in a female lions urine to determine her sexual status. This is to show a front view as the video is from the back and side of the lion flehming.
©Bill Given
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The Wild Source's Africa Video Channel - safari videos taken by The Wild Source founder Bill Given