Look, I'd like to think I'm as sensitive to feminist issues such as equal pay for equal work, voting rights, child care and the like as any other open-minded sort. But a man has to draw the line somewhere. There is perhaps no greater symbol of the male's preeminence over his domain than the heroic and venerable lion - a noble beast without peer, who rules his lair and his harem pride of female lions with an iron paw.

But "Queen of the Beasts," a CBS documentary airing from 7 to 8 tonight on WBBM-Channel 2, shows it is the female lion that actually runs the show on the African plains.

Worse yet, the male lion is presented as a ne'er-do-well bum of a beast, who contributes little to the pride except for his reproductive prowess. Who produced this thing, the National Organization for Women? C'mon, now - just kidding.

Actually, "Queen of the Beasts" is a terrific, informative, fascinating look at the unique social order of lions in Africa. The program is narrated by actress Lindsay Wagner, who will star this season in the new CBS series "Peaceable Kingdom."

This marvelously photographed documentary follows the work of researchers Craig Packer, Anne Pusey and Dave Steele. They have spent years studying the behavior of the animals that live in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, which is home to an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 lions.

Lions maintain a complex communal social order, traveling, living and hunting in groups. "Queen of the Beasts" attempts to explain why that is so. The program also examines the role of the female within the social order of lions.

Along the way, viewers learn that the male lion stays with a pride for only two or three years at a time before moving on to vanquish the male lion of another pride and assume control.

It is left to the females to do the hunting and the raising of the lion cubs. Care of the young is shared equally among the pride regardless of parentage.

The male lion, this special notes, can be a good father to cubs - as long as food is plentiful. When food is scarce, the male turns into a selfish oaf, denying all any share of food he may come upon.

"Queen of the Beasts" provides some spectacular footage of hunting expeditions and the daily living patterns of lion prides. Some younger viewers may be upset by some stunning sequences of two nomadic males who run off the resident male and kill all the cubs in order to establish their dominance of the pride.

This is a wonderful piece of nature programming that is highly entertaining, moving and informative.