Rhinos and Wildlife Projects in Africa
We look at the presence, number and position of the identification spots in relation to the reference row - the top complete row of spots. The pattern is different on each side of the lion's face and the combination is unique. This system was developed by Rudnai (1970) and is employed to build a photographic database of the lions in a population.
The whisker spot diagram shows the simplified pattern. Spots are drawn in or between boxes in accordance with their position in comparison to the reference row. Counting starts from the nose.