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More animal facts
© naturepl.com / Anup Shah / WWF
1. Nearly all wild lions live in Africa, but one small population exists elsewhere
In the wild, there are two formally recognised lion subspecies. The African lion (Panthera leo leo)is found in Africa, south of the Sahara desert. The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica)exists in one small population around Gir Forest National Park in western India.
Wild lions in the west and central Africa are more closely related to these Asiatic lions in India than to those found in southern and east Africa.
© Randy Feuerstein
2. Male lions can weigh 30 stone
On average,male lions weigh 190kg (almost 30 stone) and females weigh 126kg (almost 20 stone).
They need this weight and power behind them to hunt large prey and defend their pride.
3. They start off spotty
Young lions have rosettes and spots on their sandy coats, but these generally disappear as they mature.
© Richard Barrett / WWF-UK
4. The magnificent manes on male lions tell a story
Most male lions grow impressive manes the older they get. These manes grow up to 16cm long and are a sign of dominance.
However, not all male lions have manes. ‘Maneless’ male lions are common in parts of Africa, such as Tsavo National Park in Kenya. This is thought to be an adaptation to the local climate, as manes can reduce heat loss.
© Lisa Hagan
5. Lion cubs are reared together
A pride of lions is usually made up of related females and their cubs, plus a male or small group of males who defend their pride. The lionesses rear their cubstogether and cubs can suckle from any female with milk.
© Richard Barrett / WWF-UK
6. Lions can get their water from plants
Lions are highly adaptable and can live in very dry areas like theKalahariDesert. Here they get most of their water from their prey and will even drink from plants such as theTsammamelon.
© Stephen November
7. Lions are big eaters
Lions can eat up to 40kg of meat in a single meal - aroundaquarter of their body weight.
Their tongues have sharp-pointed rasps, called papillae, which are used to scrape meat off the bones.
© Greg Armfield / WWF-UK
8. They hunt during storms
Lions do most of their hunting at night as their eyes have adapted to the dark and this gives them a huge advantage over their prey.
Interestingly though, lions also hunt during storms. The noise, rain and/or wind make it harder for prey to see and hear them, increasing their chances of a successful hunt.
When hunting, lionesses have specific roles. Some play the role of 'centre' and others the role of 'wing' - the wings chase the prey towards the centres.
© James Morgan / WWF-US
9. Lions are the only cats who roar together
Lions are the only known cat species where individuals roar together - with even young cubs joining in with their mews. The calling sequence usually lasts about 40 seconds.
A group of lions, also called 'a pride', often roar together to mark their territory - a roar can be heard from 5 miles away.
© Kyle Isherwood
10. There aren’t as many lions as you’d think
There are thought to beas few as23,000 lionsleftin the wild. When you think there are around 415,000 wild African elephants, yourealiselion numbers are incredibly low.
In fact, lions have disappeared from over 90% of their historical range.
© Steve Morello / WWF
Lions face many threats
African lion numbers are thought to have declined by over 40% in the just three generations.
The main threats are retaliatory or pre-emptive killing of lions to protect people and livestock; and decreasing natural prey populations and habitat (for example, due to expanding human settlements, agriculture and poaching of antelope for wild meat consumption).
When their natural prey is scarce, lions can cause grave losses to livestock, which can massively reduce the income of local people.
Climate change is another increasing threat – extreme weather may cause more droughts or delay the rains, affecting lions’ prey.
They’re also killed for the illegal wildlife trade. In recent years, the demand for lion bone as a substitute for tiger bone in traditional Asian medicine has risen.
Watch our YouTube video about Lions
WWF’s work
We’re helping to establish and improve protected areas of habitat in east Africa, and work with communities tosupport the development of‘conservancies’; community land that isunfenced andprotected for wildlife, in return for income (for example, tourist lodges give communities money to be able to show tourists the amazing species that live on their land).
We support the Mara Predator ConservationProgramme(MPCP) in Kenya, which monitors and protects lions and educates local people on lion conservation. Thisincludesengaging with local communities such as anti-poisoning campaigns, providingbetterlivestock enclosures, and takingschool childrenon trips to see the wildlife they’re protecting.
With partners, we’resupportingthe first ever national lion census in Kenya – using a survey techniquedevelopedby MPCP - to determine how many lions live here and how best to safeguard them.
But we couldn’t do this without your support.
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