Lions stand between 3.5 and 4 feet (1 and 1.2 meters) tall at the shoulder. Males grow to lengths of 10 feet (3 meters) and have a 2 to 3 foot (60 to 91 centimeter) tail. They weigh from 330 to 550 pounds (150 to 250 kilograms).
Full Answer
What is the average size of a lion?
The average Lion has an overall height of 44"-50" (1.1-1.3 m), withers height of 34"-40" (.9-1.0 m), and body length of 54"-78" (1.4-2 m). A typical Lion weighs between 270-420 lb (120-190 kg) and has a lifespan of roughly 10-15 years (wild), 30 (captivity). African Lions are large felines with compact and powerful bodies for hunting prey ...
What is the size of a tiger vs Lion?
Well, let’s talk size first. Tigers are heavier, weighing up to 800 pounds to the lion’s 550. But the two cats aren’t so different in size. Here, their profiles are superimposed: You might remember from high school health class that muscle weighs more than fat, which helps explain the tiger’s extra pounds.
How big is the largest lion ever recorded?
Biggest Lion ever Recorded. The biggest lion that has ever recorded and documented is around 375 Kg (827 Pounds) in weight. This lion was witnessed in captivity at Ireland’s Dublin Zoo in 1959. This lion was believed to be more than 10 feet long and looked very huge.
What is bigger tiger or a lion?
In captivity
- Martial's epigrams describes an account between a Caspian tigress and a lion where the tiger was victorious, tearing the lion to pieces.
- In July 1808, Sylvanus Urban said that Mr. ...
- In 1830, a tiger attacked a lion at a menagerie in Turin, Rome. ...
How big is a full size lion?
Size and Weight: The length of a female is typically between 4.6 and 5.7 feet, while the length of a male is between 5.6 and 8.3 feet. Their tail length is 27 to 41 inches. Female lions weigh 270 to 400 pounds, while males weigh 330 to 570 pounds.03-Sept-2020
How big is the biggest lion?
The largest lion ever recorded in the wild reportedly weighed 690 pounds and was shot in South Africa in 1936. There are two extant subspecies of lions, meaning two subspecies that are not extinct.26-Dec-2021
How long is a lion?
1.8 – 2.1 mHead and body1.6 – 1.8 mHead and bodyLion/Length
Who is stronger lion or tiger?
According to a conservation charity called Save China's Tigers, “Recent research indicates that the tiger is indeed stronger than the lion in terms of physical strength… A tiger is generally physically larger than a lion. Most experts would favor a Siberian and Bengal tiger over an African lion.”14-Dec-2021
Do black lions exist?
Ethiopian lions, known for their unusually black manes, were feared extinct until a population of around 50 were rediscovered in 2016. Because few scientists have studied these big cats, it's unclear if they—and another group of a hundred or so lions across the border in Sudan—represent a separate subspecies.08-Feb-2017
How strong is a lions bite?
650 PSILions have a bite force of only 650 PSI, which is not much stronger than the hardest-biting domestic dog, the English mastiff (550 PSI). But lions are social creatures that hunt in groups and consume their kill where it falls, which may lessen the need for individual jaw strength, some researchers have hypothesized.12-Feb-2021
Do lions eat lions?
In general, lions don't eat, hunt or kill other lions. They will only eat another lion if times are desperate, like if there is a severe food shortage, and even then, a lion may only kill and eat the oldest lion in the tribe. They also only eat the cubs when staking their claim on a lioness. What is this?07-Nov-2021
Will a tiger beat a lion?
However, a lion coalition of 2–3 males would have a clear advantage over a lone tiger. A group of 2–4 female lions would have a similar advantage over a lone tigress. They conclude that while one on one, a tiger would certainly best a lion, in the wild the lion pride could hold their own against the solitary tiger.29-May-2013
How long do lions live?
In the wild, lions usually live no more than 8 to 10 years because of attacks by humans or other lions, or the effects of goring or kicks from inte...
Where do lions live?
Lions live in a variety of habitats but prefer grassland, savanna, dense scrub, and open woodland. Historically, they lived across much of Europe,...
What is a pride of lions?
A pride is a group of lions that live together. The members of a pride spend days in several scattered groups that meet to hunt or share a meal. Ea...
What is the purpose of a lion’s mane?
Manes make male lions look larger than they really are, which may function to intimidate rivals and impress prospective mates. Manes vary from one...
What do lions eat?
Lions usually hunt and eat medium-sized to large hoofed animals like wildebeests, zebras, and antelopes. They occasionally also prey on larger anim...
How big are lions?
They have a tuft of dark fur at the tip of their tail, are typically about 5.5–8.5 feet long and weigh between 330 and 550 pounds. Male and female lions exhibit sexual dimorphism: Female lions are smaller than males and have a uniformly colored coat of a tawny brown color. Females also lack a mane.
How long is a lion's tail?
The largest of these was the Barbary lion of North Africa, which measured some 27–30 feet long with a long, serpentine tail of 3.5 feet.
How long does it take for a lion to reproduce?
Lions reproduce sexually. They mate year-round, but breeding usually peaks during the rainy season. Their gestation lasts between 110 and 119 days. A litter usually consists of between one and six lion cubs, the average is between 2–3.
What are the colors of lions?
melanochaita (in Eastern and Southern Africa). These lions have coats that range in color from nearly white to tawny yellow, ash brown, ochre, and deep orange-brown.
What are the threats to lions?
Major threats to lions include habitat and prey loss resulting from a growing human population and climate change, as well as invasive species, agricultural effluents, diseases like canine distemper, and human retaliation for lion attacks.
How many males are in lion pride?
Prides typically include two males and three or four females and their offspring; the adults leave the pride to hunt in pairs or singly. Prides in India tend to be smaller in size, with two females. Lions play-fight as a means of honing their hunting skills.
What do lions eat?
Lions are carnivores, a subgroup of mammals that also includes animals such as bears, dogs, raccoons , mustelids, civets, hyenas, and the aardwolf. Lion prey preference is for medium to large ungulates like gemsbok and other antelopes, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, and wildebeest; however, they will eat almost any animal, from rodents to rhinoceros. They avoid animals with sharp horns (like sable antelope), or animals smart enough to graze in large herds (like elands). Warthogs are smaller than lion typical preferences, but since they are common in the savannas, they are common parts of lion diets. In India, lions eat domestic cattle when available, but mostly consume wild Chital deer.
What is a lion?
The lion ( Panthera leo) is a large felid of the genus Panthera native mainly to Africa. It has a muscular, deep-chested body, short, rounded head, round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane.
How many lions are there in the world?
Although many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are more than 1,000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are considered an ambassador species and are kept for tourism, education and conservation purposes. Lions can live over twenty years in captivity; a lion in Honolulu Zoo died at the age of 22 in August 2007. His two sisters, born in 1986, also reached the age of 22.
How do lions socialize?
When resting, lion socialisation occurs through a number of behaviours; the animal's expressive movements are highly developed. The most common peaceful, tactile gestures are head rubbing and social licking, which have been compared with the role of allogrooming among primates. Head rubbing—nuzzling the forehead, face and neck against another lion—appears to be a form of greeting and is seen often after an animal has been apart from others or after a fight or confrontation. Males tend to rub other males, while cubs and females rub females. Social licking often occurs in tandem with head rubbing; it is generally mutual and the recipient appears to express pleasure. The head and neck are the most common parts of the body licked; this behaviour may have arisen out of utility because lions cannot lick these areas themselves.
What is the tuft on a lion's tail?
Description. A tuft at the end of the tail is a distinct characteristic of the lion. Skelet on. The lion is a muscular, deep-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck and round ears. Its fur varies in colour from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red and dark brown.
How long have cave lions been around?
Estimates for the divergence time of the modern and cave lion lineages range from 529,000 to 392,000 years ago based on mutation rate per generation time of the modern lion. There is no evidence for gene flow between the two lineages, indicating that they did not share the same geographic area. The Eurasian and American cave lions became extinct at the end of the last glacial period without mitochondrial descendants on other continents. The modern lion was probably widely distributed in Africa during the Middle Pleistocene and started to diverge in sub-Saharan Africa during the Late Pleistocene. Lion populations in East and Southern Africa became separated from populations in West and North Africa when the equatorial rainforest expanded 183,500 to 81,800 years ago. They shared a common ancestor probably between 98,000 and 52,000 years ago. Due to the expansion of the Sahara between 83,100 and 26,600 years ago, lion populations in West and North Africa became separated. As the rainforest decreased and thus gave rise to more open habitats, lions moved from West to Central Africa. Lions from North Africa dispersed to southern Europe and Asia between 38,800 and 8,300 years ago.
Why did the king hunt lions?
Lion hunting has occurred since ancient times and was often a royal pastime; intended to demonstrate the power of the king over nature. The earliest surviving record of lion hunting is an ancient Egyptian inscription dated circa 1380 BC that mentions Pharaoh Amenhotep III killing 102 lions "with his own arrows" during the first ten years of his rule. The Assyrians would release captive lions in a reserved space for the king to hunt; this event would be watched by spectators as the king and his men, on horseback or chariots, killed the lions with arrows and spears. Lions were also hunted during the Mughal Empire, where Emperor Jahangir is said to have excelled at it. In Ancient Rome, lions were kept by emperors for hunts, gladiator fights and executions.
Where do southern lions come from?
Lion samples from some parts of the Ethiopian Highlands cluster genetically with those from Cameroon and Chad, while lions from other areas of Ethiopia cluster with samples from East Africa.
How many lions are in a group?
Prides are family units that may comprise anywhere from two to 40 lions—including up to to three or four males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride's lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the group as they age. Young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male.
How many lions are there in the Zambezi Delta?
Now about a hundred lions roam the reserve. In Mozambique’s Zambezi Delta, where the effects of a protracted civil war caused lion numbers to plummet, the largest-ever lion translocation project brought in 24 lions from South Africa in 2018—they’re now settled in and starting to have cubs. 4:14.
How do conservation organizations help lions?
Conservation organizations are working to change attitudes toward lions through compensation initiatives. Some of these models offer communities financial rewards when their local lion populations rise, while others pay farmers to replace their livestock that have been killed by lions.
What do African lions eat?
African lions prey on large herbivores, a population that’s being hunted for an increasingly commercial bushmeat trade. The IUCN estimates these populations have declined by as much as 52 percent in East Africa and 85 percent in West Africa.
Do lions raise their cubs?
Many of these animals are faster than lions, so teamwork pays off. Female lions also raise their cubs communally. After the hunt, the group effort often degenerates to squabbling over the sharing of the kill, with cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. Young lions do not help to hunt until they are about a year old.
What is a lion?
For the article summary, see Lion summary . Lion, ( Panthera leo ), large, powerfully built cat (family Felidae) that is second in size only to the tiger. The proverbial “king of beasts,” the lion has been one of the best-known wild animals since earliest times. Lions are most active at night and live in a variety of habitats but prefer grassland, ...
What is the color of a lion's coat?
The lion’s coat is short and varies in colour from buff yellow, orange-brown, or silvery gray to dark brown, with a tuft on the tail tip that is usually darker than the rest of the coat. Male lion ( Panthera leo) in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Lioness ( Panthera leo ).
What do lions eat?
Lions usually hunt and eat medium-sized to large hoofed animals like wildebeests, zebras, and antelopes. They occasionally also prey on larger animals, especially sick or injured ones, and eat found meat such as carrion.
Why do lions form groups?
Large body size and high density of their main prey probably make group life more efficient for females in terms of energy expenditure. Groups of females, for example, hunt more effectively and are better able to defend cubs against infanticidal males and their hunting territory against other females. The relative importance of these factors is debated, and it is not clear which was responsible for the establishment of group life and which are secondary benefits.
Why do lions have manes?
Manes make male lions look larger than they really are, which may function to intimidate rivals and impress prospective mates. Manes vary from one lion to another and may be entirely absent.
How many square miles does a pride have?
The members of a pride spend days in several scattered groups that meet to hunt or share a meal. Each pride has its own territory that it defends, ranging from 20 square km (8 square miles) if food is abundant to 400 square km (around 150 square miles) if food is sparse.
How big is a mane?
Manes make males look larger and may serve to intimidate rivals or impress prospective mates. A full-grown male is about 1.8–2.1 metres (6–7 feet) long , excluding the 1-metre tail; he stands about 1.2 metres high at the shoulder and weighs 170–230 kg (370–500 pounds).
How long do African lions live?
A typical Lion weighs between 270-420 lb (120-190 kg) and has a lifespan of roughly 10-15 years (wild), 30 (captivity). African Lions are large felines with compact and powerful bodies for hunting prey. Characterized by their yellow-gold coats and prominent manes (on males), lions are the world’s most social cats and live in communities called ...
How big is a liger?
The liger weights about 795 lbs (360 kg) and can reach a length of 11 to 12 feet (3.35 – 3.65 m) with a height of 6 feet (1.82 m).
How many lions are in a pride?
A pride typically consists of 5 or 6 female lions, their cubs, and 1 or 2 male lions that mate with the female lions. Cheetah males may gather in bachelor groups temporarily.
What is a big cat?
Big Cats popularly refers to the class of wild animals in the family Felidae, and more specifically the larger species in the genus Panthera. Initially, they consisted of the Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Jaguar but now include also the Cheetah, Clouded Leopard, and Cougar. Sort by. Name.
What is the most social cat in the world?
Characterized by their yellow-gold coats and prominent manes (on males), lions are the world’s most social cats and live in communities called prides. Lions inhabit a range of habitats from open plains, to grasslands, savannas, and forests.
How tall is a lion?
The lion cuts an impressive figure. Males measure around 1.1 – 1.2 m at the shoulder, and their large manes can make them appear even taller.
How big is a Southern Lion?
The Southern lion ( Panthera leo melanochaita) is the larger of the two subspecies. Most seem to average about 190 – 200 kg, while large males can reach over 250 kg. Exceptional specimens have exceeded 300 kg. Male Northern lions average about 150 – 190 kg.
How long is a lion compared to a tiger?
Tiger vs lion length. Lions and tigers have a similar body length and tail length. Both Bengal and Siberian tigers are slightly longer on average, with a total length of almost 3 m for males. Male lions are slightly behind with an average of about 2.7 m. Historically, the biggest tigers have also had a greater body length than the biggest lions.
How big are Bengal tigers compared to Lionesses?
But we can’t forget to mention female tiger vs lion size. Lionesses and tigresses are fairly similar in size on average, with most somewhere between 120 – 160 kg. But female Bengal tigers in the Sundarbans are even smaller, at 75 – 80 kg. Despite their smaller size, don’t underestimate these predators!
What are the two most common tiger subspecies?
There are several different tiger subspecies, but the two best-known are the Bengal tiger and the Siberian tiger (both Panthera tigris tigris ). These are the ones most people have in mind when discussing tiger size. So, let’s focus on them. (Apologies again to the Sumatran tiger.)
What is the name of the offspring of a lion and a tiger?
The offspring of a male lion and a female tiger is called a liger. The offspring of a male tiger and a female lion is a tigon. The bigger of these two hybrids is the liger. The simple explanation for this is that lionesses have genes that inhibit growth, but tigresses don’t.
What is the largest tiger in the world?
The largest captive tiger on record was a Siberian male called Jaipur. Jaipur was 3.32 m long from nose to tip and weighed a massive 423 kg! However, this is a bit misleading.
How much does a lion weigh?
A study in 2012 estimated a range of 235–523 kg (518–1,153 pounds) for males and 175–365 kg (386–805 pounds) for females , which suggests that the lion was heavier than Smilodon. Skull at the National Museum of Natural History.
How tall is an American Lion?
The American lion is estimated to have measured 1.6 to 2.5 m (5 ft 3 in to 8 ft 2 in) from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail and stood 1.2 m (3.9 ft) at the shoulder.
How long ago did lions live?
spelaea. The lineages leading to extant lions and atrox / spelaea were thought to have diverged about 1.9 million years ago, before a whole genome-wide sequence of lions from Africa and Asia by Marc de Manuel et al. showed that the lineage of the cave lion diverged from that of the modern lion around 392,000 – 529,000 years ago.
What is the lineage of the American Lion?
However, mitochondrial DNA sequence data from fossil remains suggests that the American lion ( P. atrox) represents a sister lineage to the Eurasian cave lion ( P. spelaea ), and likely arose when an early cave lion population became isolated south of the North American continental ice sheet about 340,000 years ago.
What animals did lions eat?
American lions likely preyed on deer, horses, camels, tapirs, American bison, mammoths, and other large ungulates (hoofed mammals). Evidence for predation of bison by American lions is particularly strong as a mummified carcass nicknamed "Blue Babe" was discovered in Alaska with clear bite and claw marks from lions. Based on the largely intact nature of the carcass, it probably froze before the lions could devour it. The American lion went extinct along with most of the Pleistocene megafauna during the Quaternary extinction event. The most recent fossil, from Edmonton, dates to 11,355 ± 55 years ago. American lion bones have been found in the trash heaps of Paleolithic Native Americans, suggesting that human predation contributed to its extinction.
What is the American Lion called?
Not to be confused with the cougar, sometimes also referred to as "American lion".
Where did the American Lion live?
The American lion ( Panthera atrox ), also known as the "North American lion", or "American cave lion", is an extinct pantherine cat that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch and the early Holocene epoch, about 340,000 to 11,000 years ago. Its fossils have been excavated from Alaska to Mexico.
How tall are lions?
Whilst lions are standing on their four feet, they can reach heights of up to 120 cm. When we humans stand on our two feet, we can reach heights of 272 cm which is in comparison to the height of lions, a crazy number.
How tall are lions in meters?
We already know that the height of male lions in meters goes up to 1.2 meters and that the height of females in meters goes up to 1.1 meter s. So, in centimeters, these heights will equal 120 cm and 110 cm.
How much does an African lion weigh?
African lions averagely weigh between 330 and 500 pounds when they’re fully grown. The average weight of adult African lions, however, is 410 pounds. Also, the largest African lion that lived on this earth weighed around 800 pounds.
How tall can an African lion get?
Generally, you can expect male African lions to not become taller than 1.2 meters which in centimeters would mean that they won’t become taller than 120 cm. Female African lions, on the other hand, will generally not become taller than 1.1 meters which would equal 110 cm.
What is the length of an African lion?
Male African lions generally will get to a length of about 1.8 to 2.1 meters which equals 180 in centimeters. Female African lions on the other hand will get to a length of about 1.6 to 1.8 meters which would equal to 160 to 180 in centimeters.
What is the weight of lion cubs?
Lion cubs will generally weigh around 2 to 4 pounds which is about 0.9 to 1.8 kg. Therefore it is a good thing that they’re at first raised by their lion dad and mom because otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance on their own in the wild.
How much do male lions and female lions weigh in kg?
In general, you can expect male lions to weigh between 149 to 190 KG and female lions to weigh between 122 to 181 KG. So, as you can tell, their differences in weight do not vary that much. Male lions will mostly weigh more than female lions though.
Description
Habitat and Range
- Although they primarily are found in savanna areas, lions can be found everywhere in Africa, except the tropical rainforest and the interior of the Sahara desert.They live in habitats from sea level to the mountain slopes up to 13,700 feet, including Mt. Kilimanjaro. The dry deciduous Gir forest of northwest India contains a lion preserve known as the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. Surrounding the sanctuary is an area inhabited by ethnic …
Diet
- Lions are carnivores, a subgroup of mammals that also includes animals such as bears, dogs, raccoons, mustelids, civets, hyenas, and the aardwolf. Lion prey preference is for medium to large ungulates like gemsbok and other antelopes, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, and wildebeest; however, they will eat almost any animal, from rodents to rhinoceros. They avoid animals with sharp horns (like sable antelope), or animals smart enough to gr…
Behavior
- Lions live in densities between 1.5 to 55 adult animals per 38.6 square miles (1 square kilometer). They are social creatures and live in groups of about four to six adults called prides. Prides typically include two males and three or four females and their offspring; the adults leave the pride to hunt in pairs or singly. Prides in India tend to b...
Reproduction and Offspring
- Lions reproduce sexually. They mate year-round, but breeding usually peaks during the rainy season. Their gestation lasts between 110 and 119 days. A litter usually consists of between one and six lion cubs, the average is between 2–3. Newborn cubs are born weighing between 27–56 ounces. They are blind and deaf at first: their eyes and ears open within the first two weeks. Lion cubs begin to hunt at 5–6 months and stay with their mother…
Evolutionary History
- Today there are less than 40,000 lions on our planet, but lions were much more common and widespread in the past: They disappeared from Europe during the first century CE, and from the Middle East and most of Asia by 1950. Modern cats first appeared about 10.8 million years ago. Lions, along with jaguars, leopards, tigers, snow leopards, and clouded leopards, split off from all other cat lineages early in the evolution of the cat family and to…
Conservation Status
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies all subspecies of the lion as vulnerable, and in 2013, the ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System in the United States classified P.l. leo as endangered, and P.l. melanochaitaas threatened.
Threats
- Major threats to lions include habitat and prey loss resulting from a growing human population and climate change, as well as invasive species, agricultural effluents, diseases like canine distemper, and human retaliation for lion attacks. Illegal hunting and poaching for medicinal purposes and trophies have also impacted lion populations. Legal sport hunting is considered a useful management tool, providing needed income at sanctuar…
Sources
- Bauer, H. et al. "Panthera leo (errata version published in 2017)." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T15951A115130419, 2016
- Bauer, H., and S. Van Der Merwe. "Inventory of Free-Ranging Lions Panthera Leo in Africa." Oryx 38.1 (2004): 26-31. Print.
- Evans, Sara. "When the Last Lion Roars: The Rise and Fall of the King of the Beasts." London: Bloomsbury Pu…
- Bauer, H. et al. "Panthera leo (errata version published in 2017)." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T15951A115130419, 2016
- Bauer, H., and S. Van Der Merwe. "Inventory of Free-Ranging Lions Panthera Leo in Africa." Oryx 38.1 (2004): 26-31. Print.
- Evans, Sara. "When the Last Lion Roars: The Rise and Fall of the King of the Beasts." London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.
- Hayward, Matt W., and Graham I. H. Kerley. "Prey Preferences of the Lion (Panthera Leo)." Journal of Zoology267.3 (2005): 309–22. Print.
Overview
List of alumni from manipal university
The lion (Panthera leo) is a large cat of the genus Panthera native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body, short, rounded head, round ears, and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane. It is a social species, forming groups called prides. A lion's pride consists of a few adult males, related females, and cubs. Groups of female lions usually hunt toget…
Taxonomy
Felis leo was the scientific name used by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, who described the lion in his work Systema Naturae. The genus name Panthera was coined by Lorenz Oken in 1816. Between the mid-18th and mid-20th centuries, 26 lion specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, of which 11 were recognised as valid in 2005. They were distinguished mostly by the size and colour of their manes and skins.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, several lion type specimens were described and proposed as subspecies, with abo…
Etymology
The English word lion is derived via Anglo-Norman liun from Latin leōnem (nominative: leō), which in turn was a borrowing from Ancient Greek λέων léōn. The Hebrew word לָבִיא lavi may also be related. The generic name Panthera is traceable to the classical Latin word 'panthēra' and the ancient Greek word πάνθηρ 'panther'.
Description
The lion is a muscular, broad-chested cat with a short, rounded head, a reduced neck and round ears. Its fur varies in colour from light buff to silvery grey, yellowish red and dark brown. The colours of the underparts are generally lighter. A new-born lion has dark spots, which fade as the cub reaches adulthood, although faint spots often may still be seen on the legs and underparts. The lion is the only member of the cat family that displays obvious sexual dimorphism. Males have broader heads and a prominent mane that grows downwards and backwards covering …
Distribution and habitat
African lions live in scattered populations across sub-Saharan Africa. The lion prefers grassy plains and savannahs, scrub bordering rivers and open woodlands with bushes. It rarely enters closed forests. On Mount Elgon, the lion has been recorded up to an elevation of 3,600 m (11,800 ft) and close to the snow line on Mount Kenya. Savannahs with an annual rainfall of 300 to 1,500 mm (12 to 59 in) make up the majority of lion habitat in Africa, estimated at 3,390,821 km (1,309,203 sq mi) at most; but remnant populations are also present in tropica…
Behaviour and ecology
Lions spend much of their time resting; they are inactive for about twenty hours per day. Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socialising, grooming and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity continue until dawn, when hunting most often takes place. They spend an average of two hours a day walking and fifty minutes eating.
The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Suc…
Conservation
The lion is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The Indian population is listed on CITES Appendix I and the African population on CITES Appendix II.
Several large and well-managed protected areas in Africa host large lion populations. Where an infrastructure for wildlife tourism has been developed, cash revenue for park management and local communities is a strong incentive for lion conservation. Most lions now live in East and Southern Africa; their numbers are rapidly decrea…
Interactions with humans
Lions are part of a group of exotic animals that have been central to zoo exhibits since the late 18th century. Although many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are more than 1,000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are considered an ambassador species and are kept for tourism, education and conservation purposes. Lions can live over twenty years in captivity; a lion in Honolulu Zoo died at the age of 22 in August 2007. His two sisters, born in 1986, also reached the age of 22.
What Is The African Lion?
Habitat
- African lions once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. But the species has disappeared from 94 percent of its historic range and can only be found today in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. These lions mainly stickto the grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands where they can more easily hunt their prey, but they can live in most habitats aside from tropical rainforests and deserts. Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica)are a subspecies of Afric…
Lion Prides and Hunting
- Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides—though there is one population of solitary lions. Prides are family units that may compriseanywhere from two to 40 lions—including up to to three or four males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride's lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the ...
Threats to Survival
- Today, there are only half as many African lions than there were 25 years ago. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that fewer than 25,000 lions remain in Africa, which is why the organization classifies them as vulnerableto extinction. African lions face a variety of threats—most of which can be attributed to humans. Fearing that lions will prey on their livestock, which can be a significant financial blow, r…
Conservation
- Helping humans learn how to live with lions is key to ensuring their survival. Conservation organizations are working to change attitudes toward lions through compensation initiatives. Some of these models offer communities financial rewards when their local lion populations rise, while others pay farmers to replace their livestock that have been killed by lions. Other conservationists have focused on creating protected areas for lion…