Kings and Queens of the Savanna
A long time ago, someone crowned lions as “the
kings of the jungle.” But lions don’t live in jungles. Most live
in the grassy African savanna.
Some also live in India. Lions are big cats that are related to tigers, leopards,
and jaguars. The number of lions is decreasing and lions are losing habitat.
Most lions now live in preserves and protected parks. There are about 16,000
to 47,000 African lions (Panthera leo) in Africa. African lions are
considered vulnerable. Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persicus)are
in danger of becoming extinct.
Only about 300 Asiatic lions remain.
No matter where the wild lion travels, it is the undisputed master of the
wilderness. Even old males who live by themselves are respected by the other
animals that share their land.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Where in the World are Lions?
Lions once lived across all of Africa and the Middle East, in parts of Europe,
and far into Asia. Today, as the map shows, their territory has been dramatically
reduced to avoid conflicts with people.
©UNEP/WCPC Lions were once the most widespread mammal on
Earth. More than 10,000 years ago they lived across Africa, Europe, the Middle
East, in Asia south of Siberia, and even in North America from Alaska to Peru.
They have vanished from all of these places except central Africa and India’s
Gir Forest National Park, where a small group of Asiatic lions lives.
Keeping Out of Sight
Lions are masters of camouflage when on the hunt. In the tall grasses of
the savanna even a young male lion of 136 kgs (300 lbs) can easily disappear.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Lions thrive in grassy savannas. Their tawny
coats blend well with the tall grasses and shrubs. This helps lions stay hidden
from their prey.
They may also live in areas of thick brush or dry forest, in the case of Asiatic
lions. All lions are predators,
which means they must live where there are large numbers of prey animals. The
savanna is home to herds of hoofed animals such as gazelles, zebras, impalas,
and wildebeests. Lions prey on these animals. Lions themselves have no natural
predators. But they will kill hyenas, leopards, and cheetahs that compete with
them for the same prey.
Mighty Hunters
Lions have adaptations that
make them awesome hunters. Females may grow to be 2
to 3 m long and weigh about 126
kg. They are able to bring down prey that is much larger than they are.
Males are larger than females. They weigh in at about 190
kg. Asiatic lions are smaller than African lions, and the males have shorter
manes.
Take Pride in Your Group
Lions are the only big cats that live in
groups. The groups are called prides.
In a pride, female lions share the work of hunting and raising cubs.
Adult males protect the females and cubs from other males that try to take
over the territory.
You can tell a male lion from a female easily. A male has a shaggy mane around
his face.
A hunting pride of female lions, often sisters, mothers and aunts, is trouble
for any animal not paying close attention. Once a pride is set to hunt,
all the cats are focused and alert.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org In Africa, a lion pride is made up of as many as 40 related females and cubs
and one or more adult males. They occupy a territory that can be up to 260
km2. The males mark the boundaries of their territory with urine.
They roar to warn off intruders. Their job is to guard the pride from outside
males that might try to take it over.
Asiatic lions also live in groups, but the groups are smaller. They may consist
of only two related females and their cubs. Males do defend territories, but
they do not fight to control or protect a pride. They live apart from females
except during mating. Asiatic lions tend to hunt alone. They feed mostly on
small deer and antelope. They only share a kill when it is especially large.
The strength of a lion is truly impressive. This male lion is lifting
and dragging away a wildebeest carcass that weighs over 180 kgs (400 lbs)!
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org The Hunt Is On!
While African lion males patrol their territories, females do most of the
hunting. They usually prey on animals that can run faster than they do. For
this reason, the lions often work as a group to surround an animal and ambush
it before it can get away. Once they make a kill, the rest of the pride comes
to eat. Lions can really gorge themselves. They can eat enough at one meal
to last several days. Then it’s time for a nap!
A Big Cat Nap
Lions sleep up to 20 hours a day! Hunting is very hard work. Sleeping helps
lions rest up and save energy for the next hunt. Lions are mostly active at
night and sleeping through most of the day is also a good way to avoid the
heat.
Generally lions live in a group, or pride, and show great affection to one
another and the cubs. While the others hunt, one female usually stays behind
to protect and care for the small cubs in the pride.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Lion Lingo
Lions use body language to communicate with each other. They greet others
by rubbing their faces and heads together. They also groom each other. This
helps keep them clean and free of parasites.
It’s also a way of bonding with the others in the group. Lions can be
quite loud. Besides roaring, they also grunt, hiss, purr, and snarl.
Bringing Up Baby
Females are ready to mate several times every
year. A male lion can tell when a female is ready by her scent, and he will
guard her against other interested males. A female gives birth to three or
four cubs. They stay in a nest of thick vegetation. Young cubs are spotted,
which helps them blend into their surroundings. Their mom nurses them
throughout the day. Sometimes one of the mother’s sisters will “baby-sit.” She
will nurse her own cubs and those that belong to her sister.
Only two months old and these little lion cubs are trying to explore everything
around them – including the photographer. Even at this young age you
can begin to see which lions will be the most aggressive, courageous or curious.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Learning to Hunt
After about six weeks, the cubs are old enough to leave the nest. They will
also begin to eat meat, although they will still nurse for several more months.
Cubs stay with their mothers for about two years. She teaches them everything
they need to know to survive. One of the most important skills a mother lion
teaches her cubs is hunting. Mom will often bring home a small animal that
the cubs can chase and play with. This “play” is really hunting
practice. When cubs are old enough, they join the others in real hunts. Female
lions outlive males. They may reach about 15 years of age. Males rarely live
more than 10 years.
Bon Voyage, Boys!
Despite lions’ strength, loss of habitat and increased human pressure
threaten the survival of these great cats. Asiatic male lions now only exist
in a small region of southwest India called the Gir (pronounced Geer) forest.
©William A. Bolton Female lions spend their whole lives with
their sisters and daughters. But life is different for males. When they are
about two-years-old, the pride’s dominant males
run the young guys off. These young male lions live on their own or with a
brother or cousin until they are strong enough to try and take over a pride
of their own. Pairs or groups of male lions are called a coalition.
Power Struggles
When outside males threaten a pride, the pride’s males fight fiercely
to defend it. If they are successful, the outsiders are forced away. Males
are sometimes killed during such fights. If the outsiders win, the losing males
must leave. The new, dominant males will kill as many cubs as they can. This
makes the females ready to mate again, and the males get the chance to father
their own cubs. Most dominant males last only two or three years before they
are defeated by younger, stronger outsiders.
Lions, and Tigons, and Ligers, Oh My!
In captivity,
scientists have bred lions with other big cats to create hybrids.
When a male lion and female tiger breed, for example, a liger is born. When
a female lion mates with a tiger, the cub is a tigon. Why breed such mixed-up
cats? One reason was to attract people to zoos to see the wild new cat. Today,
however, most zoos do not breed hybrids. Instead, they concentrate on educating
people about lions in the wild.
Lions in Our Lives
Not many animals have captured the human imagination the way lions have. Ancient Egyptians,
Babylonians, and Hindus revered lions. Asian, Middle Eastern, and European
cultures viewed lions as symbols of power and nobility. If you’ve seen
the movie The Lion King, then you’re familiar with one of the
latest stories about these magnificent big cats.
An Uncertain Future
Although lions are valuable to their ecosystems and to ecotourism, many
people still see them as a danger to their cattle and villages. The survival
of lions in the wild over the next few decades will depend on how much land
can be protected for them and the species they depend on for food. With luck
this cub will reach 15 to 20 years old.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Two groups of African lions have become extinct
in the wild in the past 150 years. The Cape lion (Panthera leo melanochaitus)of
southern Africa vanished around 1860. The Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo),
which lived in Egypt and Morocco, became extinct in 1922. In the past 20 years,
the population of African lions has decreased by perhaps as much as 50 percent.
The population of Asiatic lions has dropped so much that they are listed as
critically endangered.
The Lion’s Share Gets Smaller
Lions have always been hunted. People see them as dangerous to them and their
farm animals. Lions do sometimes kill people. Scientists believe that a lack
of natural prey may lead to lions becoming “man-eaters.” Today,
the biggest threat to lions is habitat loss. Many of Africa’s lions live
on preserves that may not be large enough to protect them in the long run.
While the lions may be safe in the preserves, they may be killed when they
leave its borders by poachers or
villagers who want to protect livestock.
The only way to protect lions may be to put these great cats in wildlife
preserves. Lions are worth thousands of dollars to local villagers and governments
through tourism. Tourists from all over the world travel each year to Africa
and India just to see big cats like the lion.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Lion habitat is becoming more and more broken up, or fragmented.
This means that groups of lions are isolated from each other. There may not
be enough of them to maintain healthy populations. Too few lions results in
a lack of genetic
diversity, and isolated lions are more likely to suffer from diseases.
Helping Lions Bounce Back
In addition to keeping up the preserves, conservation efforts
are being made to establish a second population of Asiatic lions in India.
African lions are also part of the Species
Survival Plan carried out by zoos. In this plan, captive lions are bred
to help preserve the species.