Leo is a large and powerful predator, a representative of the cat family. Therefore, in culture, lions began to be considered real “kings of all animals”, and they gained their fame from time immemorial, constantly appearing in various legends of peoples. This is in many ways a unique animal.

The biggest difference between a lion and other cats is their sociability and sociality; they live in groups called prides. Lions belong to the large cat family, which means that males and females can growl. This is a daytime animal, but if necessary, caused by danger, it easily adapts to the night, having excellent night vision. Since 1996, it has been included in the IUCN red list, since since the 1990s the number of lions has decreased by 43%.

Lions is a widely recognized animal symbol - it has often been used and continues to be used in various sculptures and paintings, on national flags, in films and literature. Scientists have found images of lions dating from the early Paleolithic; and the figures and pictures found in the caves of Lascaux and Chauvet in France were created as much as 17,000 years ago. During the heyday of the Roman Empire, lions were kept in menageries, and since the end of the 18th century, these huge cats have become the main number in many zoos around the world.

Interesting fact: Lions are the only cats that live in groups.

Description of the lions

A lion is a muscular cat with a compact body, a large head and short legs, the front of which are distinguished by their power. The teeth and jaws of lions are intended for hunting. In the mouth there are 30 teeth, which include 4 fangs and 4 teeth, designed to dissect the flesh. Size and appearance vary greatly between the sexes - so it is very easy to distinguish between a male and a female.

Lion's mane

The main characteristic feature of a male is his mane, which each individual has: he can be very small, can cover his face, can be huge and thick, covering his neck, head, shoulders, chest and continue along the abdomen. It is believed that the density and size of the mane primarily depends on the genes, health and amount of testosterone of each individual. It is because of this feature that lions seem much larger than their size, which helps a lot in nature, scaring away other predators or representatives of their own species, which are potential competitors. In some lions, the mane is dark, almost black - this gives the cats an incredibly majestic appearance, therefore they were nicknamed “the kings of all animals” for nothing.

Wool

In general, the coat is yellow-gold. The fur is short, the tail is long and has a dark tuft of hair at the end. There is no marking in the form of stripes or spots, like other cats, on the bodies of lions, and if there is, then it is weakly expressed. This helps large predators to remain invisible in the savannah.

Interesting fact: without fur, the bodies of lions and tigers are so similar that only experts can distinguish them from each other.

Lion size and weight

Lions are very large cats, they are 1.2 meters high in shoulders, body length is usually around 3 meters, and tail is from 60 to 91 centimeters. Male lions weigh from 150 to 250 kilograms. Females are much smaller - grow up to 2.7 meters and weigh from 120 to 180 kilograms.

Interesting fact: The white lion is a rare mutation of a common lion with a genetic abnormality called leukism, which is caused by a double recessive allele. This is not an albino; he has normal pigmentation in his eyes and skin.

Lions habitat

Scientists have found evidence of the presence of lions almost throughout Africa, in parts of Europe and Asia. During the Pleistocene era (from 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago), lions spread throughout North America and Africa, the Balkans, and also through Anatolia and the Middle East moved to India.Genetic studies suggest that the lion evolved in eastern and southern Africa, separating into a number of subspecies, such as the Barbary lion (Panthera leo leo) in North Africa, the cave lion (P. leo spelaea) in Europe, and the American lion (P. leo atrox ) from North and Central America and the Asian lion (P. leo persica) from the Middle East and India - dating back to 124,000 years ago.

Habitat reduction

Lions disappeared from North America about 10,000 years ago, from the Balkans about 2,000 years ago, and from Palestine during the Crusades. By the 21st century, their numbers decreased to several tens of thousands, and those individuals that are still outside the national parks are rapidly losing their habitat due to the development of agriculture. Currently, the main stronghold of the lion's range is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Asiatic lion exists only as a residual population of approximately 300 individuals inhabiting the Gir National Park of India on Katyavar Peninsula.

To date, lions have remained only in isolated territories, which are only a drop in comparison with the range of the past. African lions live only in small areas south of the Sahara, and a small population of Asian lions lives in a remote part of the Gir forest in India. Despite the negative impact of man and a reduction in numbers due to the destruction of the natural habitat, lions are extremely adaptable animals, able to survive in very dry climates, getting most of the moisture from food. Lions were found in tropical forests (although they are not lovers of a very humid climate), and in extremely arid deserts. Nevertheless, these huge cats prefer to live in areas of light forests and large meadows, where they can not only find shelter among trees or in tall grass, but also a lot of food.

Conflicts between the local population and the lions are the most serious problem in preserving the lion population. It is the villagers who become the main reason for the decline in the population of lions. But despite such problems, lions remain the main attraction of many reserves, where their life flourishes. Although zoologists notice that an increase in the number of lions can adversely affect local agriculture, as well as become a threat to other animals, including the cheetah.

Breeding

Mating games at the lions occur within a few days of the year. Males often enter the struggle for females.

Both sexes are generally polygamous, but females are often limited to one or two males from their pride. In captivity, mating games can occur every year, but in the wild, this period is usually longer - once every two years. Females are ready for them three to four days a year, during this period the couples engage in mating games up to 50 times a day, each of which lasts from 20 to 30 minutes.

Lionesses and lions reach the age of maturity in 2-3 years, but despite this they will not participate in mating games until their relationship in the pride is finally consolidated. It is interesting to note that all the females in the pride give birth at about the same time, this helps them fight in establishing the hierarchy that exists in males, playing the same roles. They help each other take care of the cubs and are ready to feed any kitten of the family that asks.

Females give birth once every two years, giving birth from one to four cubs. Pregnancy lasts three and a half months. Kittens are born blind and very weak, which makes them extremely vulnerable. The lion's fur is covered with black spots that disappear in the process of growing up - this helps them to hide from insidious enemies, while the adults have gone hunting.

What do lion cubs eat?

The young feed on mother's milk for the first six months, but already at three they begin to eat meat.By 11 months, kittens are already beginning to participate in the hunt, but rather in the game mode, without bringing any real benefit. This is becoming an essential lesson on the difficult path of growing up. 80% of lion cubs do not survive during the first two years of life - it is associated with hunger, the attack of other predators or male lions that capture prides, displacing weaker predecessors. Only after 2 years will they be ready for an independent life. Females are ready to the last to protect their cubs, even from males, but they pay more attention to the protection of older adults, who will soon be ready for independent life.

Young males are expelled from the pride at about the age of 3 years and become nomads until they are old enough and strong to try to overthrow the head of another pride - this happens around the age of 5 years. But it is worth noting that most males remain nomads for life, and not having found the strength to challenge the leaders.

There is practically no opportunity to enter mating games for single males, and competition between lions is extremely high, which leads to frequent and violent conflicts that can cause fatal injuries.

Lions do not directly participate in kittens' lives, leaving this role for lionesses. But the lions are busy protecting the pride from competing males, thereby protecting cubs that are defenseless for a long time.

Prides in which there are from 2 to 4 males are most successful in protection and development than smaller groups, which allows them to remain for longer periods. If a new group of males captures the pride, then they seek to get rid of the lions that their predecessors gave birth to - this leads to the fact that the females become ready for mating games.

How many lions live?

In captivity, lions rarely live longer than 10 years, because they often fall prey to hunters, external and internal conflicts and prides, as well as from injuries received during hunting (for example, a blow by powerful zebra hooves). But in captivity can live up to 25 years. The oldest registered individual survived to 30 years.

Females live longer than males - can live up to 15-16 years. Lions reach their peak of maturity in the period from 5 to 9 years, then they are most active.

The situation is slightly different for the Asian counterparts: mortality among the lion is less than that of the African, and also the life expectancy is longer - on average they live 17-18 years.

Prides and behavior

The uniqueness of lions and the main distinguishing feature from other cats is their social life, which is characterized in the creation of prides. Pride members live in small groups that unite in order to hunt or share food. Prides consist of several generations of lionesses and a small number of males, as well as lion cubs. Usually groups consist of 4 to 37 individuals, but an average of about 15 lions.

Each pride has a strictly limited habitat, which is vigilantly protected from the invasion of other lions by males, but there are also a kind of buffer zone in which strangers are allowed to enter, but only for a passage or for a short time. Such territories belonging to the pride, in areas with a large amount of food can reach only 20 square kilometers, but in areas with a meager amount of living creatures, the area can reach 400 square kilometers.

Prides can continue to exist for more than one generation of lionesses, while pride chapters are replaced approximately every 3-4 years, because the male is always stronger when the leader begins to lose strength. Lions designate their territory with a loud roar and aroma, spraying bushes and rocks. The characteristic roar of lions is usually heard in the evening before the start of the hunt and early in the morning when the pride wakes up at dawn.

The lions have developed strong competition in the strict hierarchy in the pride.Squabbles between males can not only lead to injuries, but also become a serious threat to the whole family, as tired defenders will not be able to defend themselves from external danger. Females do not have any competition or hierarchy. It is interesting to note that the males are aggressive towards other members of the pride during the absorption of food, while the females willingly share with relatives.

Males are mainly involved in defense, but lionesses are also always ready to defend themselves from invasion. Some individuals do this consistently and purposefully, while others are less interested in this. Each lion takes on a specific role, even a certain occupation is slow, which they diligently perform.

Despite their incredible strength and large size, males practically do not hunt, since they are slower and more noticeable than females due to their size and mane. Females hunt together, which allows them to get food in the most efficient way, spending less energy, using developed tactics, with which they can kill larger and faster animals.

Socialization of lions

Animals in a calm state, when nothing bothers them, have a wide range of behaviors. Lions have a wide arsenal of gestures and movements with which they can communicate with each other. The most common tactile gestures that are peaceful and friendly in nature are head touches and licking.

These huge cats often sniff each other’s forehead, snouts and necks during a greeting - this can often be seen after a long absence of a separated individual or after a collision with other lions. Males enter similar games with other representatives of their gender, females and cubs only with lionesses.

The most important technique in the socialization of lions is licking, during which the licked vividly expresses his pleasure. Head and neck are the most frequent parts of the body for licking. Such behavior, as some scientists say, arose because of the inability to do such actions themselves and the inability to reach these areas of the body.

Lions also have a wide arsenal of facial expressions and postures, which are gestures for relatives. The most famous is the “grimace”, which is used by the lion to detect certain odors of other big cats, it is expressed by opening the mouth, exposing the teeth, raised head, wrinkled forehead, closing eyes and relaxed ears.

A wide range of vocal cues is also good for communication: varying intensity, pitch - the central tools of the lion's socialization. Characteristic vocal cues include growling, purring, panting, bleating, and humming. Roar acts mainly as a signal of its presence and dominance, serves to scare others. The lion's roar can be heard at a distance of up to 8 kilometers. They usually use several deep and long tones, which then turn into shorter ones.

Lion hunting

A lion is a large and carnivorous animal that survives only by eating other animals. Unlike other feline cats, lions are not solitary hunters, but instead, lionesses work together to track down and catch their prey, as each female plays a strategic role. This strategy allows them to hunt animals that are both faster and much larger than they are. Depending on the abundance and variety of prey species on their territory, lions mainly catch a gazelle, zebra and warthog, as well as a number of antelope species, following herds through open meadows.

Who are the lions hunting for?

Lions prey on a wide variety of animals: from rodents and baboons to buffaloes and hippos, although they mainly prefer ungulate animals of medium and large sizes, such as wildebeests, zebras. Food preferences may vary depending on the area of ​​residence and on each specific pride.Elephants and giraffes are also included in the menu of lions, but mostly these are weak and stray individuals. We are willing to eat any meat that they only find, including carrion. Do not shun stealing from other predators - hyenas, cheetahs and wild dogs.

Lionesses live mainly in the savannah, spend most of the time hunting, while the males appropriate the prey for the female. But do not underestimate the lions, which are no less mobile than the lionesses, they are also dexterous and skillful hunters, who in some regions are often busy hunting along with the females. Those prides, the territory of which are in the open woodlands, often spend most of their time hunting, getting their entire diet on their own, spending much less time with the females.

Although many consider the group of hunting lions to be the most formidable natural force on land, for the most part it ends unsuccessfully. Lions do not pay attention to the direction of the wind, which can tolerate the smells of predators over long distances, warning potential victims of an imminent threat, and also, after short races, they quickly get tired.

As a rule, lions are in hiding, tracking the victim from there. At that moment, when the animal passes near the shelter, the cat launches its huge body in a jerk in order to catch up with its future dinner, but such races are not designed to be long. When the lion catches up with its victim, it rushes to the neck and sticks its fangs, which it does not open until it strangles the victim or until the latter is exhausted.

Other members of the pride gather around the carcass and begin to eat together. Sometimes the production is too small for the entire pride to come up at the same time, then quarrels can occur, which often result in injuries. Cubs begin to absorb food in the last turn.

When the hunt takes place in a group, pride members surround large herds of animals, causing panic, because of which the victims cannot form a defensive structure, becoming more vulnerable. After a successful hunt, lions often spend a couple of days resting. An adult male can eat up to 34 kilograms of meat at a time, and then rest for a week before again starting to search for food. If there are a lot of animals in the vicinity of the pride, then both sexes spend almost 24 hours hunting, spending only 2-3 hours a day on vacation.

Interesting fact: Lions love to relax and sit back. They spend from 16 to 20 hours every day, resting and in a dream. They have few sweat glands, so they wisely strive to preserve their energy by relaxing during the day, and become more active in the evening when it is cooler.

Lions in most cases absorb food on the spot, but sometimes they can drag it to a secluded place. A lioness needs to eat up to 5 kilograms of meat daily for a healthy life. Lions also protect food from other predators.

Hyenas and lions

An interesting relationship has developed between hyenas and lions. Their diet coincides with almost 60%. Lions often ignore the presence of hyenas, while the latter have a pronounced reaction to lions in the vicinity. Lions often take food from hyenas, thereby causing a greater activity of the latter in response. But hyenas, in turn, often wait aside from the pride, which is in the process of absorbing another victim, in the hope that after the insatiable lions there will be at least some food.

These two species can enter into conflict for no apparent reason; there is a whole series of evidence of the attack of a pack of hyenas on a lion. Lions can cause the cessation of life of 71% of hyenas. When the lion population in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya declined, the spotted hyena population quickly increased.

Interesting fact: Captive spotted hyena experiments show that specimens without prior experience with lions act indifferently to their appearance, but they react with fear to the smell of a lion.

Lions, as a rule, dominate cheetahs and leopards, select their prey and take the lives of their cubs and even adults, when there is such an opportunity. A study in the Serengeti ecosystem showed that lions killed at least 17 of 125 cheetah cubs born between 1987 and 1990. Lions also dominate African wild dogs, killing them and hunting young and rarely adult dogs. It was observed that the lions killed the crocodiles who dared to crawl to the ground.

Threats

Although lions do not have natural predators in nature, according to statistics, most of the deaths of these graceful felines are associated with conflicts that arise between several individuals, as well as at the hands of people. Lions can often cause serious injuries, often fatal to other prides. Wounded lions can become victims of hyenas and leopards, and lions can also be seriously injured during hunting. The young can be killed by other predators, and the weakest with food shortages for the entire pride are left by lionesses, which is why they die, being unable to independently obtain food or defend themselves.

Ticks often affect the ears of lions, as well as their inguinal areas. Some species of tapeworm are becoming a serious threat to these big cats. They enter the intestines due to the infected meat of antelopes. The fly autumn lighter led to a whole epidemic among the lions in the Ngorongoro crater in 1962, which led to the depletion of a huge number of individuals, which were covered with huge bloody spots. Then the lions showed unusual behavior: they tried to protect themselves from flies by climbing trees or climbing into holes burrowed by hyenas. The number of lions in that region decreased from 70 to 15. A similar outbreak occurred in 2001.

Lions are also at risk of contracting the dog plague virus, which has spread since the 1970s. He switched from local sick dogs to other predators, including large feline ones. In 1994, an outbreak of the dog plague virus also occurred in Serengeti National Park, during which many lions began to display extremely disturbing symptoms, including severe cramps. But these graceful cats are also affected by other diseases - pneumonia or encephalitis. Immunodeficiency or lentivirus also affects captive lions.

Human interaction

Lions have always admired and aroused fear among people, but due to hunting for them and growing human settlements, many of the natural habitats of lions have been destroyed. Although it has been known for a long time that lions do not see prey in a person, they can wander into villages in search of food, where, due to fear caused by a strange environment for a predator, it sometimes behaves unpredictably. Therefore, according to statistics, more than 700 people annually become victims of attacks by lions, 100 of them die from such contact - this is only in Tanzania. In 1898, two lions in Kenya managed to bite 130 railroad workers over a period of 9 months. This behavior is largely due to the fact that lions have been hunted for centuries, and the instinct of self-defense makes itself felt.

The lion hunt began to flourish from ancient times and was often considered a royal pastime, which symbolized the victory of the patriarch over nature itself. The very first source about hunting lions, dating back to 1380 BC, tells about the killing of 102 lions by “Pharaoh Amenhotep III“ with his arrows “during 10 years of rule.

The Assyrians released captive lions into a reserved place for the king to hunt; viewers watched this event when the king and his men, on horseback or in chariots, killed lions with arrows and spears.

Lions were also hunted during the time of the Mughal Empire. In ancient Rome, lions were often used in gladiatorial battles, and also began to be imported into the first zoological gardens to amuse guests.During European colonization of Africa in the 19th century, lion hunting was encouraged because they were considered parasites, and lion skins brought in £ 1 each.

Widely distributed photographs depicting hunters sitting over the carcass of a battered lion. Today, such entertainment is criticized and illegal, but poaching continues to flourish, despite the best efforts of international groups, volunteers and local authorities.

Lions belong to a group of exotic animals that have become the main exhibits of many zoos since the late 18th century. Their popularity grew rapidly, attracting many visitors. Today in zoos around the world you can find about 1,000 African lions and 100 Asian. Lions are a popular tourist attraction, which millions of tourists from all over the world come to see, which brings a lot of money to African countries.

But lions also have a negative effect on people, causing fear in them, and killing livestock. But these are quite rare cases, because when food is plentiful, lions do not touch domestic animals, but when they see a man walking, a big cat will prefer to change its direction and not mess with people.

Symbolism of Lions

The lion is considered one of the most common symbols from the animal world, which is widely used in many cultures around the world. It can be found in many works of literature, cinema and painting. Often images of a lion were used in sculptures. He often appeared as a symbol of strength and nobility in European cultures, is ubiquitous in the art of Asia and, of course, Africa. The lion was portrayed as the “king of the jungle” and the “king of the beasts,” and thus became a popular symbol of royalty and statehood.

Interesting fact: The ancient Egyptians saw in these powerful animals warlike deities, the power and cruelty of lions aroused admiration in them. They worshiped and immortalized in monuments and statues. The Sphinx is just one example of that admiration.

Subspecies of lions

Leo belongs to the genus Panthera. It also includes tiger, jaguar and leopard. Historically, it was decided to isolate 12 subspecies of lions, the largest of which was Barbarian (considered to be too lazy today, although some experts believe that some individuals could be preserved in private collections).

What is the difference between subspecies of lions?

The main difference between all the subspecies was exclusively the size of the body and the appearance of the mane. But since it’s not necessary at once, and in one area you can meet lions of the same subspecies of different sizes and with a rich variety of manes, scientists came to the conclusion that the old classifications are not correct. Therefore, only 8 subspecies began to be distinguished. But at the same time, disputes continued, and many scientists doubted the justice of separating the Cape Lion into a separate subspecies.

The differences between the lions on the African continent are so insignificant that it allows experts to combine them into one subspecies, talking about the differences only in the prevailing genetic differences in different areas caused by the absence of migrations. So, from 2008 to 2016, experts from the IUCN Red List began to use only two subspecies of lions. And specialists from the Cat Classification Task Force group of the Cat Specialist Group conducted an extensive phylogeographic analysis of lions and concluded the existence in the world of only two subspecies of lions - So in the world scientific discourse the number of subspecies has decreased:

• Panthera leo leo - a subspecies of a lion, which includes West African, Central African and Barbarian lions;
• Panthera leo melanochaita is a subspecies of a lion, which includes South African, Cape and Eastern lions.

But let's talk about the classic classification.

Barbaric lion

Barbarian lion also known as the North African lion. This subspecies of a lion was previously found in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria.He is currently extinct in the wild due to hunting. The last known wild Barbarian lion was killed in 1920 in Morocco. Today, some captive lions are considered descendants of wild Barbarian lions, especially those living in Rabat Zoo. The Barbarian lion is one of the largest subspecies of the lion, whose individuals reach a length of 3 to 3.3 meters and a weight of more than 200 kilograms.

West African Lion

The endangered West African lion or Senegalese lion (Panthera leo senegalensis) inhabits western Africa from the Central African Republic to Senegal. The West African Lion is the smallest among African lions living south of the Sahara. Only about 1800 representatives of this subspecies live in the world, living in small and fragmented groups in West Africa.

South West African Lion (Katanga Lion)

The Katanga lion or southwestern African lion (Panthera leo bleyenberghi) is found in southwestern Africa in the countries of Angola, Zaire, western Zambia and Zimbabwe, Namibia and northern Botswana. These lions are one of the largest among all types of lions. Males reach a length of 2.7 to 3.2 meters, while females have a length of 2.2 to 2.8 meters. Males weigh about 140–242 kg, and lionesses weigh about 105–170 kg. These lions have lighter manes than other subspecies.

Masai lion

The East African lion or Masai lion (Panthera leo nubica) has less curved backs, and its legs are slightly longer than the rest of its relatives. You can also notice small tufts of hair around the knee joints in males. The manes of the Masai lions grow towards the back, so it may seem that they have been combed back, and in older individuals the manes are fuller and thicker than in young animals.

Fortunately, this species has not yet been classified as endangered and is found in parts of Uganda, Kenya and the Tanga region. Maasai lions males live in high mountains above 800 meters and have a heavier mane than individuals living in low-lying areas.

Transvaal lion

The South African lion (Panthera leo krugeri), also known as the Kalahari lion or the Transvaal lion, is found in southern Africa, where a significant portion of this subspecies live in the Kruger South African National Park and the Swaziland Royal Hlane National Park. Most males of this subspecies have a large black and thick mane. The length of the males ranges from 2.5 to 3 meters, while the females reach a length of 2.4 to 2.8 meters. The weight of male Kalahari is about 150–250 kg, and of females 110–182 kg.

Cape lion

The Cape Lion is a subspecies of the lion that is considered extinct. The Cape Lion was in second place in size and the heaviest of all subspecies. An adult male grew up to 230 kg, body length was 3 m. He was distinguished by a large and thick black mane with a reddish fringing around the muzzle. The tips of the ears were black.

Asian lion

The Asian lion or Indian lion (Panthera leo persica), once widespread in Turkey and throughout southwest Asia, as well as occupying large territories in the Indian subcontinent, currently has an extremely small habitat, limited only to the Gir National Park , a wildlife sanctuary in the Indian state of Gujarat. Only 523 individuals of the lion of this subspecies remain on the planet.

The Asian lion is smaller than the largest of the African lions, but is similar in size to the Central African lion. The weight of adult males of Asian lions ranges from 160 to 190 kg, and in females from 110 to 120 kg. The longitudinal fold of skin along the abdomen is a morphological feature that helps in identifying the Asiatic lion. The color of the fur of the Asian lion varies from ruddy, yellowish-gray or sand to very speckled with black. Lions have moderate mane growth, unlike the African subspecies, and their ears are always visible. Asiatic lions also exhibit less genetic variation than the African subspecies.These lions are classified as endangered.

Congolese lion

The Congolese lion, the north-Congolese lion or the northeast north-Congolese lion is one of the subspecies of the lions. They live in areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in some western territories of Uganda. Since 1996, this subspecies has been classified as vulnerable. These lions are often shot by local shepherds who fear for their livestock. To date, no zoo in the world contains Congolese lions.