Lion Pictures, Information and Facts
Generally when you think of lions you are thinking of the African Lion. There are
also Asian Lions though their numbers are dwindling and most of them are currently
being protected in a park in India. Traditionally, twelve subspecies of lion have
been noted, the largest subspecies being the Barbary Lion. The most notable differences in the subspecies of Lion were location, appearance of their mane, coloring, and
size.
Lions vary in color from nearly white to deep reddish browns. The male has a long
thick mane. The female does not. The lion is the only big cat with a tufted tail.
The Lion is the second largest in weight of the big cats (The Tiger is the largest).
Lions weigh between 330-550 pounds.
Like the Tiger and Cougar, Lions are very powerfully built. The strength of their arms and jaws enables them to effectively bring down prey even larger than themselves.
Lions, unlike many big cats, live in groups called prides. The lions will hunt as a group as opposed to being solitary hunters like some big cats. Because of their
ability to hunt together they can prey as large as buffaloes. Another difference
in lions from many other big cat families is that the female lions in the pack (Lioness) do the hunting.
Although lions can go hunting at any time of the day, they prefer, and are most likely to hunt after dusk. Though Lions are great predators, they are also great
scavengers. Lions find kills made by other carnivores and take them over. In fact
scavenged food can provide them with 50% of their diet or more.
In the wild, Lions can live 10-14 years. In captivity, they can live longer than 20 years. Lion cubs are taken care of by their mothers for the first two years of
their life. They are taught how to hunt and the rules of the pride. Then they become
adult majestic Lions in their own rights.
Lion Information
- Where they live: At one time lions lived across most of Africa. Today, however, they can be found in the south Sahara desert, as well as throughout parts of southern and eastern Africa.
- What they eat: Through the use of cooperative hunting, lions are able to take down prey that would normally be too large for a single lioness, including zebras, wildebeests, young elephants, rhinos, hippos and even giraffes. And while larger prey provide several meals for the pride, lions can also subsist on such small creatures as mice and lizards, tortoises, warthogs, antelope and crocodiles. Another source of nourishment is from meals that lions take away from other predators, such as hyenas, cheetahs and other scavengers. Kills such as these make up about 50% of their diet, especially in places such as the Serengeti plains.
- Family structure: The family structure of the lion consists of roughly two to three cubs, weighing around three pounds each. A lioness deals with her cubs in varying ways. Some nurture the cubs, while others neglect or even abandon them when food is scarce. With two or more lionesses giving birth around the same time, the raising of cubs becomes a community chore, with most cubs being raised with other cubs of the same age from different mothers. Most lionesses will even permit cubs that are not theirs to suckle, which in turn might allow a neglected cub to survive. By the age of two, the young lions are capable hunters and become fully grown around age five or six. Lions normally live to be about 13 years of age.
- Habitat: Lions prefer to live in grasslands, savannas, woodlands and dense bush.
- Endangered status: The African lion is on the IUCN Red List being listed as vulnerable. CITES has the African lion as protected under Appendix II.
Physical Characteristics
The tallest of all living cats, the lion is the second largest felid in length and weight, second only to the tiger. The skull of the lion is also similar to that of the tiger, one of the main differences being the broader nasal openings. The coat of the lion varies from a light buff to yellowish, reddish, or even a darker brown in some instances. The underbody tends to be lighter, and the tuft (lions are the only felids to have this physical characteristic) is dark in coloration.
The lion is only felid species to show a distinct look between males and females. They also both fill specialized roles within the pride, with the female taking up the role as hunter. This "role-reversal" is mainly due to the mane displayed by most male lion species. The mane overheats the male lion when he must run, as well as interfering with camouflage while hunting.
Males range in size from 330 to 550 pounds, with females weighing in at around 264 to 400 pounds. The size of a lion depends on environmental factors, such as availability of prey.
A Male Lion's Mane
Adult male lions have a unique feature among big cats, a mane, and it is one of the most distinct features that sets them apart from their brethren. In addition to being a sign of prowess, making the male look bigger than normal, it also signifies the health and well-being of the male lion. The darker the mane, the healthier the male lion and the more success the lion will have at mating and carrying on the species, as female lions prefer male lions with darker manes over their competitors with lighter manes.