The first time you see a lion is the most memorable experience in Africa.
One lion expert described lions as an "aura of impending violence". The epitome of wild Africa, they are also the most sought-after prize on any safaris to East Africa or Southern Africa for their combination of grace and grandeur. We will show you where to find the king of Africa's cats.
The lion is Africa's largest cat species, second only to the tiger. If you include the tail, males can be over 2.5m. The lion that weighed in the most was at a hefty 272 kilogram. Females usually weigh between 120 and 168 kilogrammes. In a single session, lions can eat up to 25% of their own body weight, and even male lions can appear pregnant, so swollen are their bellies.
Female lions can live up to 18 years in the wild while males can live up to 16. Lions can live a long time in captivity.
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The lion is the only social cat in a group of 38 wild cats. Lions live in pride which can include more than 30 individuals, but many pride are much smaller, especially in areas where pressure from human populations is high.
The core of every pride is a multi- generations of lionesses. Females who are born into the pride will stay with their sisters and mothers, aunts and grandmothers throughout their lives. A home range can be as small as 35 sq km or as large as 1000. They hunt as a team, defend their territory, and raise their children in a creche.
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When lionesses are ready to give birth, they retreat to a secluded area where the babies are born. The average size of a lion's litter is between two and four, but as many as seven have been recorded. Cubs can't open their eyes until around ten days after birth, and mothers hide their babies until they're eight weeks old. Lion's are vulnerable during their first two years of life despite the pride.
Young males will leave their pride and look for their own territory when they reach adulthood in order to prevent mature males from having sex with their own relatives. They will often join with brothers or cousins to form a coalition and then wander until they can challenge a resident male for control of a pride. Once in control, they will patrol their territory, sometimes remaining on their own with the other coalition males.
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Elephants, springhares, and most animals in between are eaten by lions. Their favorite prey varies from region to region, but they usually include zebra, warthog, buffalo, wildebeest, impala, gemsbok, and warthog. A pride of lions learns to hunt seals. In the Selous Game Reserve, lions hunt giraffes, as well as other animals. The weight difference between lions and elephants is the greatest disparity between predator and prey in the animal kingdom. buffaloes can weigh more than seven times as much as lionesses.
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Although lions are skilled hunters and can reach a top speed of 93 km/h, they rely on short bursts of speed rather than stamina, as a typical lion hunt requires that lions stalks their prey to within around 15m before launching their attack More than half of all lion hunts end in failure, and despite such skills, their recorded success rate as hunters can be as low as 15%. Contrary to popular belief, lions eat a lot of their food.
Animals like cows and donkeys will be eaten by lions. A major cause of human-lion conflict is the killings of lions by humans.
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The lion has never been king of the jungle, contrary to popular belief. Lions can adapt to a wide range of habitats, from dense woodlands in Ethiopia and Uganda to semi-arid environments such as the Skeleton Coast of northern Africa. Although lions aren't fond of water, they have learned to swim in the Okavango Delta.
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Half of Africa's lions live in Tanzania, according to some estimates. There is a small lion population in the Indian state of Gujarat as well as in West Africa. The Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park are the largest lion populations in the world.
Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe National Park, Savuti region and the Central Kalahari Game Reserve are some of the best places to watch lions.
Around 2000 lions can be seen in the Masai Mara Game Reserve and the surrounding community conservancies, as well as Samburu National Reserve and the conservancies of the Laikipia Plateau.
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Etosha National Park in the country's north is a great place to see lions. The new parks of the Zambezi Region are quieter alternatives.
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Private reserves in South Africa have reintroduced lions. The Kruger National Park is a great place to see lions. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is full of lions.
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The Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park are located in the south of this prime lion-viewing area.
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There are more animals in Africa than there are in the United States. Most estimates show that there were more than a million lions in Africa a century ago. There are only 22,509 lions left in the world, and 95 percent of their range has vanished, according to a study done in 2019.
Less than 40% of Africa's lions live within the boundaries of protected areas, and many lions live in isolated populations that are not viable in the long term. There are only eight countries that have at least 500 lions.
The lion is listed as Vulnerable by the Iucn.
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The article was last updated about 9 hours ago.
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