GRRRREAT Lion Facts
Male[Lion]
Female[Lioness]
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger.1. Girl power
Unlike any other cats, lions hunt in groups, and guess who does the hunting? The lionesses! Despite power in numbers, females are much smaller than the males, who are huge! They can weigh between 150 - 250 kg, and stand about 121 cm tall at the shoulder, 243 cm long, not including the tail, which averages about 91 cm long.
2. Daddy daycare
The male lion usually stays and watches it's young while waiting for the lionesses to return from the hunt.
3. Mane event
Lions are the only cat species that you can easily tell males and females apart males have a mane, females don’t.
4. Spots check
Lions are born with brown rosettes (spots) like a leopard. These spots fade as they get older.
5. Chillin' together
Lions are more social than any other cat, living in groups, called ‘prides’, of up to 30 individuals.
6. Muzzle id
Dark spots on the muzzle are unique to each lion, like fingerprints of a human.
7. Hunting zzz's
Lions may spend up to 20 hours a day resting or sleeping.
8. Hear me purr!
Lion sounds include snarling, purring, hissing, coughing, meowing, woofing and roaring.
9. Incredibly loud
Lions have the loudest roar of any big cat. They typically roar at night to announce their presence. A lion’s roar can be heard up to 8 km away.
10. Because male lions are so big and have a full mane, they are often too slow and conspicuous to be good hunters. The male lion protects the pride while the lionesses hunt. Male lions always eat first.
11. Lions are very social and are the only cats that live in groups, known as prides. The pride usually consists of five or six related females, their cubs of both sexes, and one or two males who mate with the adult females.
12. Lions are the national animal of Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, England, Ethiopia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Singapore.
13. Lions are the largest cats of all in Africa. They are the second largest cat species in the whole world. Only the tiger is bigger.
14. Depending on where they live, lions range in color from nearly white to tawny yellow, ash brown, ochre or deep orange-brown.
15. Lions have been found in many countries from Greece, the Middle East to northern India. Today they are found in the sub Saharan climates, mostly in savannas of Africa and a few in northwest India. Lions can live in savannas, grasslands, dense bush and woodlands.
16. Lions are meat eaters. They do not really chew their food they rather swallow it in chunks.
17. In Swahili the name for lions is Simba.
18. Sometimes a younger, fitter lion will overthrow an older king and take over. It is common for that male to kill off any cubs which are not his own. In this way, he makes sure that it is his genes that are passed on.
19. A lion can’t roar until it is 2 years old.
20. There is always a lot of fighting and squabbling going on during feeding time.
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