- Roughly all wild lions live in Africa, but there is a trivial group of them elsewhere…
Approximately all wild lions live in Africa, below the Sahara Desert. However, there is a small group of them near Gir Forest National Park in western India. The lions in the west and central Africa are more closely related to the Asian lions in India than to the lions in the south and east of Africa.
- THEY CAN WEIGH 30 STONE
Most men weigh 190kg (nearly 30 stone) and most women weigh 126kg (just about 20 stone). They need this weight and power to catch big prey and protect their pride.
- THEY START OFF SPOTTY
Lion cubs have rosettes and spots on their sandy coats, but these usually go away as the cubs grow up.
- MALE MAGNIFICENT MANES TELL A STORY
As male lions get older, their manes get longer and more impressive. These manes can grow up to 16 cm long and show who is in charge. The more well-known they become, the less clear their manes become. In addition to attracting women, their manes may also protect their necks and heads from getting hurt in battle.
- THE HELP IS RAISED TOGETHER
A pride of lions is usually made up of related females and their cubs, as well as a male or small group of males who look out for the pride. The lionesses raise their cubs together, and cubs can get milk from any mother.
- PLANTS CAN PROVIDE WATER FOR LIONS
Lions are very adaptable and can live in places like the Kalahari Desert which are very dry. Here, most of their water comes from the animals they eat, but they will also drink from plants like the Tsamma melon.
- LIONS ARE BIG EATERS
Lions can eat as much as 40 kg of meat at once, which is about a quarter of their body weight. Their tongues have grates with sharp points called papillae that they use to scrape meat off of bones.
Greg Armfield/WWF-UK: “Tempest mists over the Maasai Mara.”
- THEY HUNT DURING STORMS
Lions do most of their hunting in the evening because their eyes are used to the dark by then, which gives them a huge advantage over their prey. During storms, they hunt more because their prey can’t see or hear them as well because of all the noise and wind. When they are chasing, lionesses have clear jobs to do. Some take on the role of “focus,” and others take on the role of “wing.” The “wings” chase the prey towards the “focuses,” who are the “focuses.”
- Only lions roar at the same time.
Lions are the only known species of cat where people can thunder together, and even young lion cubs join in with their mews. Most of the time, the time between calls is about 40 seconds. When a pride wants to check on its territory, it will often thunder together
- THERE ARE NOT AS MANY LIONS AS YOU MIGHT THINK
It is thought that there are only about 23,000 lions left in the wild. When you realise there are about 415,000 wild African elephants, you realise how few lions there are. In fact, lions are no longer found in more than 90% of the places where they used to live.
Many things can hurt lions.
It is thought that the number of African lions has dropped by more than 40% in just three decades.
The main risks are retaliatory or pre-emptive killings to protect people and domesticated animals, as well as a decrease in natural prey and the natural environment (for instance, due to encompassing human defrayals and along these lines less accessible brushing).
When their usual prey is scarce, lions can do a lot of damage to domesticated animals, which can wipe out the income of people in the area.
Changes in the environment are another growing threat. If the weather gets worse, there may be more dry seasons or the rain may come later, which could affect what the lions eat.
They are also put to death for illegally trading animals. In traditional Asian medicine, people are becoming more interested in using lion bone instead of tiger bone.
