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Lions
The hair on a male lion's head is called a mane.
Baby lions are called
cubs.
The females do most of the hunting for food.
They work as a team when
they hunt.
Lions live in groups called
prides.
Lions are in the group of cats known as the 'big cats'. They are different from other cats because they live in large social groups, and are the only cats to do so. Other cats are generally solitary, which means they live alone most of the time. Most lions are in Africa, although there is another species (kind) in India, and two kinds that are now extinct.
Social Organisation
A group of lions is called a pride, generally consisting of up to around fifteen (but can be up to about thirty or more) lions, mostly females that are related. One male, or sometimes two or three males, join a pride and stay for a period of time, usually about three years or until another male or group of males take over the pride. A pride is territorial, and the males mark the territory with scent and by roaring. Roaring is also a way for members of a pride to stay in touch when they are in different parts of their territory. A lion's roar can be heard up to 8kms away, and close to the roaring lion, the grass flattens and leaves move on the trees from the force of the sound!
Where lions are found
In the wild, the African lion is found in parts of eastern and southern Africa and is generally protected in reserves, although hunting by humans still occurs. Their habitat is grasslands and open woodlands where there are belts of trees and bush near rivers. They are rarely found in forests with a thick canopy - lions are often called 'King of the Jungle' but they live on grasslands! The Asiatic Lion, which was once found all over India, the Middle East and Southern Asia, is today only found in the Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat, western India, numbering about 290 only.
Diet
Lions are carnivores. The females do almost all of the hunting, bringing down animals such as wildebeest, waterbuck, zebra, impala, and sometimes giraffe. Lions will also feed on smaller animals such as hares, birds and reptiles. Lions can run at about 35 km per hour but only in short bursts. Therefore they work as a team to stalk and capture prey. Lions have excellent vision and spot prey at some distance. They depend on stalking to get as close as possible to their prey before having to chase. The pads on their feet enable them to move soundlessly. Their sharp, retractable claws are important for seizing and holding prey. 'Retractable' means they can pull them in or have them out when needed. This keeps them sharper. Males eat first, then the females and lastly the cubs.
Physical
Features
Male lions have manes on heads, cheeks and throat, and often on shoulders and belly, while females do not. The manes protect them while fighting. Lions are generally a light, yellowish-brown colour. On average, the males are about 3 metres long, and females about 2.5 metres long, both with tails of about 100 cm. There is a tuft of fur at the end of the tail. Males weigh about 250 kg and females about 180 kg. The male Asiatic lion has a smaller mane compared to that of the African male. Both male and female Asiatic lions have a long fold of skin running the length of the belly, which is a feature not found on the African lions.
Life Cycle
About 100-119 days after mating with a male, a female lion gives birth to about 2 or 3 cubs. Young cubs are marked with light spots which gradually disappear as they grow. The cubs remain with their mother for at least two years. They begin hunting at 11 months. When male cubs are about one year old, they leave the pride and become 'rogue' males until they are older and stronger and able to fight and take over a pride, driving out the male or males they have defeated.
Lions live for about 15 years in the wild, and about 24 years in captivity.
Conservation status
Since the early 1950s, the lion population in Africa has been reduced by half. Today there are less than 21,000 in Africa. Threats to lions include loss of habitat because of human population growth and development, as well as hunting and poisoning by farmers whose livestock are threatened by lions. Lions generally are not threatened although becoming vulnerable, but in some areas, the African lion is endangered.
Two species of lion, the Barbary lion (which was the largest of all the lions) and the Cape lion have become extinct.
Go here to find out more about lions.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior_Big_Cats/Lion
Go here to find out about the extinct Barbary lion
http://www.tigertouch.org/barbary/index.html
If you use any part of this,
acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Lions (2002). [Online], Available:
www.kidcyber.com.au
Updated December 2007