General: Lion, member of the cat family whose size, power, and bearing have captured human imagination since earliest times. Called the king of beasts, lions once ranged throughout Africa and from Europe to Iran and India. By 1900 lions were no longer found in Syria; today Asiatic lions are limited to the Gìr Sanctuary in India. Lions also roam Africa south of the Sahara, particularly the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Kruger National Park in South Africa. This drastic reduction in range came about as humans and domestic livestock spread into savannah lands. Because lions live in open areas, they are easily shot by hunters and herders. In sanctuaries, however, they are a great attraction for tourists, and within such confines their survival is not endangered.
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Lions have relatively short-legged, long, muscular bodies and large heads. The male grows to 1.7 to 2.5 m (5.6 to 8.2 ft) long, not including the tail, which is 90 to 105 cm (36 to 41 in) in length. The animal stands 1.23 m (4 ft) high at the shoulder, and it weighs 150 to 250 kg (330 to 550 lb). The mane, which covers the head and neck, sometimes extends to the shoulders and belly. It varies in length and in colour, from black to tawny; well-fed, healthy lions have longer, fuller manes. The smaller, equally muscular females are of the same tawny colour but lack manes. Both sexes have hooked claws and wide, powerful jaws. The lion's roar, which can be heard by humans up to 9 km (5.6 mi) away, is usually uttered before the animals hunt in the evening, after a successful hunt, and again in the early morning. In the open savannahs they inhabit, lions need travel only about 8 km (about 5 mi) and spend only two to three hours a day in pursuit of food, passing the remaining hours resting and sleeping. Lions do not hunt every day.
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Social Organisation: Among the most gregarious of the cats, lions associate in groups of one or more family units called prides. A pride has 4 to 37 members. The females, which represent several generations, rarely leave the pride. Male cubs stay in the pride until they are expelled when a new group of males joins the pride. They then roam about for several years, after which they begin to contend with rival males to head a pride. Many males often remain nomadic, and even those that take over a pride remain with the females for only a few months to a few years before they leave on their own or are forced out by rivals. A pride frequently breaks up into groups that later recombine into different assemblages of individuals
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The size of the territory that a lion pride works depends on the amount of available prey in the territory, which may range in area from 20 to 400 sq km (from 8 to 150 sq mi). Lions of both sexes maintain territories by leaving a strong scent on bushes and by roaring to warn off wandering prides and nomadic males.
Predatory Behaviour: The prey of lions ranges from insects to giraffes; the animals prefer large animals such as zebra. Hunting takes place in the evening and is primarily a female activity. The lion cautiously stalks its prey and, once within close range, runs it down in sprints reaching about 50 to 60 km/h (about 30 to 37 mph). The lion's great weight and momentum usually downs the prey, which is then dispatched with a bite to the throat that suffocates the prey. After the female has made a kill, the male comes to share the meat. Males may scare off females in order to take some of the meat. A lion may eat 40 kg (88 lb) of meat at one time and then go for over a week before the next kill.
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Reproduction and Life Span: Lions are polygamous and breed every 18 to 26 months in the wild; captive lions breed every year. After a gestation period of about 110 days, one to four cubs are born, with thick, spotted coats. Lions in captivity can live up to 30 years; in the wild males live an average of 12 years and females an average of 16 years.
Scientific classification:
The lion belongs to the family Felidae. It is classified as Panthera leo.
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/ Photos of Britain