amazing facts of lion

Lion (Big cat)

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

    Species : Panthera Leo
    Family : Felidae
    Kingdom : Animalia

    Types of lions 

• Asiatic lion
• African lion 
•  Barbary lion
• Transvaal lion
• European lion
•  Cape lion
• White lion
• Panthera leo sinhaleyus
• Panthera leo melanochaita
• Panthera leo vereshchagini
•  Congo lion

Teeth

• A lion combines long, pointed canine teeth with scissor-like cheek teeth for slicing meat. It cannot chew at all.

Habitats

Lions are the largest predators in Africa.They are also the most sociable of the cat family and can live in group of up to twenty and more. Which are called prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three 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. Male lions will leave the pride they are two years old. They will leave alone. Many male lions will never return to a pride, and will never mate. Pride sizes usually depend on the availability of prey in their territorial area as well as the size of their territory. When the territorial dominant adult male lions die or lose a fight and a new male or males take over young cubs will usually be killed by the new territorial male or males in order to father their own offspring.

Some prides will also wander for a long period of time without settling into a territory.  The pride usually hunt together. At any kill of a pride the dominant male will feed first following other males and then the females. The cubs will feed last when the others had their fill. They stalk their prey or wait in ambush near water until the prey animal is close enough to pounce upon. Lions often are opportunistic hunters in the sense that they will kill when an opportunity arise. Lions will also kill any predator if they get a chance and often kill the young of leopard, jackal, hyena, cheetah, honey badger, caracal, wild dog and civet amongst others, to naturally eliminate competition for food and territory. They will not always eat these animals, but sometimes might. Lions are mainly active during night time although they do sometimes hunt by day should an opportunity presents itself, or in cold weather. During the heat of the day they usually rest or lie down in the shade, or on colder days in dry riverbeds and near waterholes. They can also be found resting near carcasses of a kill they made during the night.

Weight

•     Male : 170 to 235 kg
•     Female : 130 to 200 kg

Size

•     Male lions (Length) : 10 feet (including tail)
•     Female lions (Length) : less than 9 feet long

Lifespan

•     Average about 15 years
•     In zoo – 18 to 20 years (zoo can expandable to their lifespan)

Food and water

•     Large animals – Elephant , giraffe , hippo , rhino ( in some cases)
•     medium animals - wildebeest, waterbuck, kudu,buffalo.
•     Water- If available, they will drink water everyday. But they can go 4-5 days without drinking by obtaining moisture from the stomach contents of their prey.

Gestation period

•     The gestation period is about 110 days, and the litter size varies from one to six cubs, two to four being usual.

Speed/hour

•     80 km/hour, (maximum, In Short Burst), ( 50.3 mph ).The lion ranks fifth among the fastest land animals in the world.

Main reasons of decreasing lions population

•     Human encroachment
•     Habitat loss
•     Growth of agriculture
•     Poaching
•     Human population growth
•     African trophy hunting
•     Deforestation

Diseases

•     Cancer
•     Tuberculosis

Interesting Facts

Photo by Adam King on Unsplash

Lions are not the largest, not the fastest animal , not the strongest animal. But male lions are often referred to as the King of the Jungle due to their regal posture and their attitude , bravery and leadership. Lion have a ability to protect other creatures.

Lions have the loudest roar of any big cat. A lion’s roar can reach 114 decibels at a distance of about 1 meter. The roar can be heard from a distance of 8 kilometers or 5 miles and is used to advertise the animal’s presence. Lions often roar after a kill or when members of a pride are trying to locate each other. Lionesses have a soft short roar that they utter when calling their cubs.

Extreme colour variations and genes in some lions have caused a small number of lions to be born completely white. The most famous of these lions were captured around the Timbavati area in and around the Kruger National Park. There are still a few breeding stations that are trying to breed with white lions.