What Is A Lion?

The Lion is a great animal and is one of the biggest in cats family. It is huge mammal with weigh up to  250 kg and average age is between 12 to 14 years. Loin is known to be a symbol of power, courage and nobility. The lionesses are the true hunters and hunt their prey with a great team effort.

The lion is a wild cat, second in size only to the tiger.  Panthera leo
can weight as much as 227 kgs (500lbs) in the wild and will live to be
about 10 – 14 years.  There are eight recognized sub-species of lion,
but the North American mountain lion is not a true lion and is actually
a completely different species.



Two sub-species of lion are extinct in the wild and the Asiatic lion is
considered critically endangered with fewer than 350 animals thought to
still exist.  African lions have fared better although these four
species are estimated to number between 16,300 to 47,000.  This is a
significant drop over the past few decades.  Experts estimate that the
African lion population has dropped almost 50% and this has led the
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources to
list the species as vulnerable to extinction.



Lions can form two different types of social groups: Resident and
nomadic.  A resident population consists of several adult females and
their cubs and one or two adult males living together in a pride.
Nomadic lions will either live alone or in pairs.  They will roam a
quite wide area without having a home range.  Male lions are able to
move between a resident and nomadic life, but female resident lions
create a strict hierarchy and will not usually accept a new female into
their pride.



Lions eat a diet consisting entirely of meat.  In a pride, lionesses
will work together and hunt for the group because females are faster
and more agile than males.  A male will never share his kill, but
lionesses will allow males to share their kill once all the females and
young have had their fill.  This is not the only way in which females
in a pride work together, their reproductive cycles are synchronized
which allows all the females to care for and nurse all the cubs.  Lion
cubs nurse for 6 – 7 months before they are weaned.  In the wild,
almost 80% of cubs will die before reaching maturity.  It is likely
that competition for food is the predominant reason for this high
mortality rate.  Another contributing factor for this death rate is
behavioural.  If a new male takes over a pride, he will ensure that the
females become fertile by killing all of the cubs.



Lions have been kept in captivity since as early as 850 BCE.  There are
records that claim lions were kept in the Tower of London as a part of
menageries from the 13th century forward.  The lion plays a significant
role in a number of Egyptian and Greek myths and legends.

Lion:
Big cat- on of the largest- over 200kg.
Males have big furry mane- from neck to under stomach, Females not.
Females do all hunting- as a team
Individual can consume 50 kg of meat in  1 meal
Concidered "King of the beast" ( though I think tigers are better!) and a symbol of power and courage ("Heart of a lion" that sort of stuff)
Found mainly in Africa
Litter of 2-4 cubs
Hope this helps!

A large carnivorous feline mammal (Panthera leo) of Africa and northwest India, having a short tawny coat, a tufted tail, and, in the male, a heavy mane around the neck and shoulders.