African Lions

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Geographical Location
Type of Environment
Anatomy
Senses & Attributes
Lifestyle
Population
Natural Threats
Human Induced Threats
African Lions at the Zoo

Geographical range	AFRICA Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, United Republic of Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe back to top
Type of Environment	Subtropical forest Tropical dry forest Savanna Shrubland Desert Grassland back to top
Anatomy	Size: Body length (including tail) 2.1m - 3.0m Shoulder height - 0.7m -1.2m Weight: 100 - 270kg. Females usually one third smaller than males. Heaviest recorded lion was 423kg. Body Shape: Well-proportioned, muscular body drawn in at the belly. Relatively short neck. Broader face than the tiger. Rounded ears. Pelage: Born with dappled markings that fade by adulthood. Adult colouration is uniform sandy to reddish brown. Dark tuft on end of tail. Outside of ear marked with a black or brown patch. At the onset of sexual maturity males adopt a mane on head, neck and underside of body. The growth of the mane is controlled by the hormone testosterone. It is believed that this degree of sexual dimorphism is the result of the lions complex social systems and the open habitat they dwell in, as the mane seems to act as a visual guide communicating information relating to health, age and rank. The mane gives extra protection to vulnerable areas during conflict fighting. back to top
Senses & Attributes	Eyesight: Particularly good at night with highly reflective layers behind the retinas to throw back as much light as possible through the pupils. Night vision up to 7 times better than ours. Excellent binocular vision for accurately judging distances. Monochromatic (black and white) vision. Hearing: Range from 2kHz to 65kHz (approx. 5 times better than ours). Used as a primary source of detecting prey animals or potential danger. Smell: Like all cats, sense of smell is much lower than a dogs. Only a very small part of the brain is dedicated to interpreting scent. Dogs have a greater area devoted to olfactory cells and the density of cells around their nasal passages is 125 per square centimetre rather than only 13.9 per square centimetre for cats. Experiments have shown that even rotten meat can go undetected. Interpretation of scents, especially each others, seems to be quite advanced and is carried out via the 'flehman gesture' which is identified by a facial grimace as the mouth is opened, nose is wrinkled, chin is raised and tongue hangs out. This allows the opening of the vomeronasal, or 'Jacobson's Organ', which is located in the roof of the mouth. As a result, the full capacity to draw in chemical scents for analysis is obtained. The 'flehman gesture' is vitally important for assessing reproductive and territorial behaviour. Whiskers: Used to locate position of killing bite and to then detect death of prey from twitching of animal's skin nerves. Trap scent particles. Display mood i.e. positioned forward = inquisitive, backward = relaxed, upwards = threatened. Also used for judging distances. Teeth: Generally 32 in all. 4 canines (up to 7cm long) for killing. Carnassials for cutting flesh and crushing bone and incisors to gnaw at soft ends of bones and scrape off fibres and tendons. Paws: Particularly large fore paws for grabbing prey and fighting. Cushioned by soft pads for silent walking and grip/balance. Claws: Sharp and retractable (up to 5cm long) and protected by lobes of skin. Used for fighting, gripping prey animals and scratch-marking trees around territory boundaries. Tail: Used mostly to act like a rudder to maintain balance while running at speed. back to top
Lifestyle	Social Structure: They live in social groups, which is unique amongst the big cats. The centre of the lion's matriarchal society is the pride, which is made up of a group of related females and their offspring. There can be up to 20 females in a pride and pride sizes generally increase with abundance of prey. Male lions leave their birth pride when they are 2-4 years old. They then form coalitions with other males. Typically, coalitions of 4 or more males will be related whereas pairs of males are likely to be unrelated. These male coalitions will spend on average 2-4 years cohabiting with a pride of females before being ousted by other stronger males. Pride members are often scattered in small sub-groups throughout the pride's range. There may be a number of factors which have influenced the unusual social structure of lions such as the need for group hunting on open ground, defence of young, insurance against individual injury, ability to hunt large prey, and the evolutionary advantage to share kills with relatives rather than strange lions or other large predators. Territory: Territory size is 13sqkm - 250sqkm depending on type of environment and prey density. Prides will avoid confrontation with each other by marking out territory boundaries and leaving scratches on trees, scats and urine scents, also by frequently patrolling and 'calling' (which can be heard 5km away). If fighting occurs it is normally between male coalitions competing for a pride or between prides competing for prime territory areas. Males that are outcast from their birth pride or males overthrown from a pride will usually end up leaving a nomadic lifestyle with no fixed territory. This is a very precarious situation for them to be in and often leads to their demise. Hunting: Active during day and night (cathemeral). Hunting normally occurs at dawn and dusk (crepuscular) although as opportunists they will take a chance to kill at any time. Within a pride, females do the majority of the hunting. They mainly hunt cooperatively in groups of 3-8 individuals. Techniques of capture include circling and closing in on prey and blocking and ambushing. As a combined force lionesses can kill very large prey. After stabilization a bite will be administered to the nape of the neck or the throat. In addition, suffocation is commonly used by clamping jaws and forepaws over the victim's muzzle. Pride males sometimes partake in hunting. Following a kill the prime males take the proverbial 'lions share' by eating first. Non-pride males often scavenge to survive. Feeding habits: Following a kill the prime males take the proverbial 'lions share' by eating first and consuming up to 30kg of meat. Females and cubs are then able to feed. Feeding usually takes place on the ground. Food Consumed (includes): Zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, cattle, gazelle, hare, elephant, giraffe, monkey, birds, insects and some vegetation for nutritional, digestive and medicinal purposes. Reproduction: Sexual maturity reached by 4 years old. Females come into oestrus approx. every 60 days for 7-10 days. During this period the lioness are mated by the prime males within the pride. Gestation is approx. 110 days. Litter size up to 8 cubs but usually 2-4. Females often temporarily leave the pride to give birth and return 2-3 weeks later. Cub to Adult: Birth weight is 1.2 - 1.8kg. Born with eyes shut. Weaning from 6 weeks. Weaned by 5 months but may suckle up to 9 months. Other lionesses play important role as 'aunts', and, if lactating, will allow other lionesses offspring to suckle. Play amongst cubs acts as early practise for later hunting expeditions (from 6 months onwards). Males are driven out to seek new pride at 2-4 years, females stay within birth pride. Sexual maturity is reached by 4 years old and often much earlier. Lifespan is up to 12 years for males and maybe 16 or just over for females (lifespan up to 30 years in human care). Infant mortality can be high, especially as a result of infanticide and starvation. back to top
Population	Cape Lion (Panthera leo melanochaitus) from South Africa became extinct in the wild by the 1830's. Barbary Lion (Panthera leo leo) became extinct in the wild by the 1920's. Today's wild populations of African lions are estimated at between 20,000 - 50,000. back to top
Natural threats	Injury sustained through hunting large or dangerous prey animals. Injury as a result of conflict with each other or other predators. Infanticide. Disease. Malnutrition & starvation. Natural disasters (eg.forest fires, flooding & drought). back to top
Human induced threats	Habitat destruction. Loss of wild prey. Revenge killing by livestock owners. Trophy hunting. Political instability. Increased risk of infectious diseases.
African Lions available for adoption	Charlie Brown, Nahla, Snoopy back to top