Lions

A lion pride’s territory must include accessible water sources, adequate cover for hunting, and areas suitable for raising cubs.

Lions mark their territory by spraying urine on bushes, trees, and rocks to create a scent boundary other lions can smell.

Lions sometimes climb trees to escape biting flies, cool off, or get a better view of their surroundings.

When resources are limited, lion prides break into smaller groups to improve their chances of finding food.

Life Cycle

Lionesses give birth to 2-5 cubs after a pregnancy lasting about 110 days.

Lion cubs are born blind and helpless, weighing only about 3 pounds (1.5 kg), similar to the weight of a pineapple.

Newborn lion cubs open their eyes after about 3–11 days after birth.

Lion cubs start learning to hunt at around 6 weeks old, but aren’t proficient until they’re about 2 years old.

Lion cubs nurse for about 6–7 months, but start eating meat at about 3 months of age.

Only about 1 in 5 lion cubs survives to adulthood in the wild due to predators, disease, and starvation.

Lions reach their full adult size at about 5–6 years of age

Male lions develop their iconic manes starting at about 1-year-old, with full manes growing in by age 4-5.

Lionesses can have cubs every 2 years throughout their adult lives.

When male cubs reach maturity around age 3, they’re usually forced to leave the pride by the dominant males.

A male lion can father up to 25 cubs in his lifetime if he successfully maintains control of a pride.

Lion cubs begin playing with each other when they’re about 3 weeks old, which develops crucial muscles and coordination.

The color of a male lion’s mane gets darker as he ages, which signals his maturity to other lions.

Lion cubs have spots when they’re born, which fade as they grow older, helping them hide in the grass when they’re young.

Diet & Feeding

Lions primarily hunt large hoofed animals like zebras, wildebeest, and buffalo, which provide enough meat to feed the whole pride.

An adult lion can eat up to 88 pounds (40 kg) of meat in a single meal, which is about a quarter of its body weight!

After a large meal, a lion may not need to eat again for up to a week.

Lionesses often hunt together in coordinated groups, increasing their success rate to about 30%, compared to 17-19% when hunting alone.

A lion pride needs to make a kill roughly every 3–4 days to sustain itself.

Lions are listed as “Vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

Only about 20,000-25,000 lions remain in the wild today, down from over 200,000 a century ago.

Human-lion conflict is one of the biggest threats to lions, as people kill lions that attack livestock.

Disease outbreaks, including canine distemper virus and bovine tuberculosis, have killed hundreds of lions in some protected areas.

Lions living in protected areas have about 4 times the survival rate of those living near human settlements.

Fun and Unique Facts

Lions can sprint at speeds up to 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), but only for short bursts of about 100 yards (91 meters).

A lion’s tail has a black tuft at the end that cubs follow through tall grass and adult lions use for signaling during hunts.

Lions can open their jaws wide enough to fit a soccer ball inside.

Lions evolved in Africa and began migrating to Eurasia about 700,000 years ago.

African and Asiatic lions can mate with tigers in captivity, producing hybrids called ligers (lion father, tiger mother) or tigons (tiger father, lion mother).

Lions from different regions have genetic differences, with East African lions having different DNA markers than lions from southern Africa.

The loudest recorded lion roar measured 114 decibels, which is about as loud as a rock concert.

Lions living at high altitudes, like those in Ethiopia’s mountains, have longer, thicker fur to keep warm.

A lion’s bite can exert a force of up to 650 pounds per square inch (psi), which is strong enough to crush many animal bones.

When available, lion prides prefer to live in areas with complex topography that provides vantage points for hunting.

Lion cubs practice hunting on dung beetles, lizards, and other small creatures before attempting larger prey.

A lion pride uses only about 20% of its territory actively, with the rest serving as a buffer zone between neighboring prides.

Lionesses synchronize their breeding cycles when living in the same pride, often giving birth within a few weeks of each other.

Lions’ claws can grow up to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long, about the length of a paper clip.

The scientific name for lions, Panthera leo, comes from Greek and Latin words meaning “every wild animal” and “lion.”

Contrary to popular belief, lions do not live in jungles but prefer open grasslands and savannas with scattered trees.

White lions are not albinos but have a rare color mutation called leucism that reduces the pigment in their fur.

Lions can jump up to 12 feet (3.6 meters) vertically, about twice the height of a tall human.

A lion’s brain is about 25% smaller than a tiger’s brain relative to body size.

A lion’s roar is created by air passing through flexible vocal folds in its throat, supported by a stretchy hyoid apparatus

The average lion takes about 13 breaths per minute while resting, compared to a human’s 12-16 breaths.

A study found that lions recognize individual lions’ roars and can count how many different lions are roaring.