Lions Facts

Lions are now found only in grasslands, dense bushes and savannahs of Africa and Asia. In historic times, they started disappearing from few parts of Africa and Asia because of their clashes with humans while trying to get the perfect habitat for themselves. Now their population in forests is very small and they are being kept in reserves and national parks. They live up to 30 years in captivity, while 13 , 15 years in wild. An adult lion may weight up to 250 kilograms; hence, after Tigers they are the second largest living cats.

Lions are like pet cats, but much bigger, taller and stronger. They can run at 60 kilometers an hour but not faster than Cheetahs. They have good eyesight and can even see well in the dark, about six times better than a human. They have good sense of smell and keen hearing too, which help them to track down their prey. They hunt in the form of groups, so that they can kill their prey easily. With the help of their powerful jaws and strong teeth, they can break a bone with one bite.

Lion Facts About Family

Lions are family animals; they live in the form of groups that are known as Prides. A pride usually consists of about a dozen animals. At least two of them are adult males, the rest females and their cubs. Female lions usually stay with the pride forever because mostly they are sisters who want to live with each other. Male lions leave when they are about three years old and roam around looking for a new pride to join. New lions in the pride try to kill the cubs, because they want to have future cubs from their genes, and it does not seems strange to them.

Lion Facts About Preying

The responsibility of a male lion is to protect their pride and territory. Mane has a great importance in lions life. The darker and denser mane of a lion makes him stronger. Those lions have longer reproductive life than others and they can survive in difficult conditions. Female lions are the main hunters but when the hunt is over; males eat first, and then females and cubs get the leftover. A big prey, such as a rhino, baby elephants, giraffes, wildebeest or a large zebra, can feed the whole pride, and there usually is no need to hunt for a few days.