Short answers, pulled from the story.
The mane begins to develop when lions enter adolescence and reaches full size around four years of age. This feature has evolved over the last 320,000 years to serve as a biological signal of fitness that determines reproductive success and lifespan.
The modern lion survives only in fragmented populations in sub-Saharan Africa and a single population in the Gir National Park in India. The species became extinct in North Africa by the 1960s and was extirpated in most of Turkey and the Middle East by the late 19th century.
A typical pride consists of around 15 lions including several related adult females, their cubs, and a coalition of one to four adult males. This social structure is unique among cats because females form the stable core of the pride while males disperse to find their own territories.
Hyenas steal up to 63% of lion kills in some areas and often force lions to scavenge when their own hunting efforts fail. Lions are generalist hypercarnivores that rely on short bursts of speed and ambush tactics to take down medium-sized and large ungulates.
The earliest surviving record of lion hunting dates back to 1380 BC when Pharaoh Amenhotep III killed 102 lions in ten years. Ancient kings and emperors hunted lions to demonstrate power, with the Assyrian emperor Ashurbanipal depicting his hunts on palace reliefs.
The Lion of Babylon adorned the Processional Way leading to the Ishtar Gate and was built by Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century BCE. This structure in ancient Mesopotamia established the lion as a symbol of kingship that influenced civilizations from Greece to India.