Lions
Smithsonian National Zoological Park Fact Sheet
Lion Facts
Female lions lack manes.
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Species: Panthera leo
The world's most social felines, lions usually get by with a little help from their pride mates.
Physical Description: Lions have strong, compact bodies and powerful forelegs, teeth, and jaws for pulling down and killing prey. Their coats are yellow-gold, and adult males have long, dark, shaggy manes. Young lions have light spotting on their coats.
Size: Male lions grow larger than females, reaching up to ten feet long (females reach up to nine feet long), plus a two- to three-foot-long tail. Male lions weigh from 330 to 530 pounds; females weigh 270 to 300 pounds. Lions stand between three and a half and four feet tall at the shoulder.
Geographic Distribution: Except for a small population that hangs on in the dry Gir Forest of northwest India, lions now live only in Africa. They are found from the Sahara's southern fringe to northern South Africa, but are absent from equatorial areas dominated by moist tropical forest. (Looking in an atlas is a great way to see maps of these areas.)
Status: The lion is listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union's (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Animals. The Gir Forest population, which consists of about 300 lions, is listed as endangered.
Habitat: Lions inhabit a wide range of habitats, from open plains to thick brush and dry thorn forest.
Natural Diet: Lions eat primarily large animals, such as zebra and wildebeest, weighing from 100 to 1,000 pounds. In times of shortage, they also catch and eat a variety of smaller animals from rodents to reptiles. Lions steal kills from hyenas, leopards, and other predators, but may also lose their catches to hyena groups. Lions may also feed on domestic livestock, especially in areas near villages.
National Zoo Diet: Keepers feed the Zoo's lions ground horsemeat. Once a week, they give them horse tails, which exercise the cats' teeth and jaws.
Reproduction: Female lions usually give birth to a litter every two years. Females are receptive to mates for a few days several times a year, unless they are pregnant or nursing. Mating spurs ovulation. Females give birth to one to five cubs after a gestation of about three and a half months. Cubs nurse for six months, but start eating meat at three months. Due to varied dangers, including starvation during times of food shortage and attacks by male lions taking over prides, up to 80 percent of lion cubs die within their first two years of life.
Life Span: Zoo lions may live up to 25 years, while wild lions live about 15 years.
Behavior: Lions live in groups called prides, which may include from several to 40 individuals. Pride mates associate in sub-groups within the pride. Female pride mates are related to each other. Although both males and females defend the pride's territory, the larger males take on most defense duties, marking territory with roars and scent marks (urine). Females do most of the hunting. Several females stalk prey from different angles to within 100 feet before attacking the targeted animal. Females stay in their mothers' prides for life, unless food scarcity forces them out. Young males are driven from their prides when they grow large enough to compete with the dominant males. Young males join in coalitions, usually with brothers and cousins, and search for a pride to take over. Males entering a new pride will kill all cubs that cannot run from them. In India, female and male lions live apart, joining only to mate.
Past/Present/Future: More than 10,000 years ago, lions thrived from North and South America to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Today, following climatic changes and after centuries of hunting and habitat degradation by people, lions live in scattered habitats across Africa (with the exception of the Gir Forest lions, which live in a park in northwest India). Within these areas, lions still face dangers, including habitat loss and hunting. Many have died from diseases such as distemper, which is spread by domestic dogs from villages near natural habitat.
To keep lions from becoming as rare as tigers, large expanses of habitat must be carefully protected. In disease-ridden areas, ranging dogs must be kept away from lions or immunized. Meanwhile, the isolated Gir Forest lions suffer from inbreeding, a limited amount of habitat, and frequent conflicts with people. This population needs additional reserves so it can grow.
A Few Lion Neighbors:
* spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta): Africa's second largest carnivore (after lions) is also one of the lion's greatest competitors for prey.
* wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus): Also called a gnu, this strange-looking, migratory animal is the most abundant antelope on East and southern African plains. It is an important food for lions.
* plains zebra (Equus burchellii): Another important prey species of lions, zebras wander widely across the East and southern African plains.
* chital (Axis axis): Also called spotted deer, these Asian deer are important prey for India's lions.
By saving lion habitat, we protect these and many other animals.
Fun Facts:
* Tigers are lions' closest relatives. Without their coats, lion and tiger bodies are so similar that only experts can tell them apart.
* A lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away.
* A male coalition rarely holds onto a pride longer than two to three years before being run off by fierce challengers.