- The lion
- Characteristics of lions
- Where do lions live?
- What do lions eat?
- How do lions breed?
- How long do lions live?
We tell you all about the lion, where it lives and how it reproduces. Also, how it feeds and its characteristics.
The lion
The lion (scientific name Panthera leo) is a large carnivorous feline. It is originally from Africa Sub-Saharan and certain regions of India, where it constitutes the largest predator of the food chain. It's one of the wild animals best known and feared by humanity, for their fierceness, but also admired and represented in symbols, stories and sculptures.
The ancestors of lions appeared 4.1 to 5.9 million years ago, and from them all four species of the genus derive Panthera: the tiger, the jaguar, the lion and the leopard. The latter two evolutionarily separated 1.25 million years ago, and emerged as we know them today in Africa between 1 million and 800,000 years ago.
During the Upper Pleistocene they spread throughout the five continents, thus giving rise to the extinct American lion and the puma, until in the last ice age, 10,000 years ago, they became extinct in Europe, America and almost all Asia.
The humanity He has had contact with lions since ancient times, and has seen in them a symbol of nobility, ferocity and masculinity. For this reason, it is common to find them in ancient stories, on country flags, on family shields and even as a symbol of one of the four biblical gospels.
Despite this and being powerful predators, lions are among the vulnerable species and susceptible to extinction. In recent decades his populations they suffered a decline of between 30 and 50%, making their life not viable outside the delimited ecological reserves.
The loss of their habitat and conflicts with human populations are partly responsible for this phenomenon, so numerous zoologists of the world collaborate to try to increase the numbers of the species in captivity.
Characteristics of lions
Lions are sociable and often live in packs.Like all felines, lions are quadruped and mammals. They have a long tail, a short yellowish coat, as well as a blonde or dark mane around the neck in the case of males. With an exclusively carnivorous diet, they are fierce hunters, capable of holding their prey with their claws and tearing large portions of meat with their sharp fangs.
Together with tigers, they are the largest felines that exist: they can measure about 2 to 3 meters (males) or 1.80 to 2.7 meters (females). length, and reaching a weight of 160 to 260 kg (males) or 120 to 182 kg (females).
On the other hand, their temperament is rather sleepy: they dedicate about 20 hours a day to rest and inactivity, instead having their socialization periods at sunset and their hunting hours, usually at night. They spend about two hours a day walking and about 50 minutes a day eating.
Lions, unlike the rest of the felines, are quite sociable creatures, which tend to form packs. Traditionally, females with some family bond and a smaller number of males are brought together, along with the young of the former.
It is common to see them give each other affection by licking and rubbing, as well as marking their territory by urine and by the intimidating presence of the dominant male and his fierce roars.
Where do lions live?
Lions became a very widespread species in Africa and the Near East, as well as the Indian subcontinent. Nowadays, however, wild lions are known to inhabit very restricted regions of southeastern and central Africa, as well as very specific regions of northwestern India.
By nature they prefer grasslands and bed sheets, rarely entering wooded regions.
What do lions eat?
Lions are predatory carnivores and tend to hunt large mammals.They are eminently carnivorous creatures, great hunters of the plains African. The hunt takes place through coordinated attacks and in herds, trying to isolate and besiege the prey as quickly as possible, since they do not have a particularly high physical resistance. In fact, they can reach speeds of up to 60 kmph, but only over short distances.
Their favorite prey are usually large mammals, such as wildebeest, buffalo, impala, zebra, wild boar, deer or young giraffe, and even seals, if they manage to find one off the coast of Namibia. If they live near herds of cattle, it is likely that they will also take a few cattle from time to time.
The hunt is organized by sex: the females hunt together, with occasional help from the males, but the product of this hunt will be for them and for the young; males must hunt on their own food.
Lastly, lions are not very prone to cannibalism, but isolated events are always possible. Generally speaking, lions have much more to fear from human being.
How do lions breed?
The lions were reproduce sexually, like all mammals, and they are animals viviparous. In each pregnancy a female can give birth between one and four young in a den isolated from the rest of the herd. The females have several periods of heat per year, during which they can mate with several lions, then having a gestation of 110 days on average.
When the young are old enough, the females rejoin the herd. There the cubs play and learn to hunt and take their place in the social hierarchy. After reaching adulthood, many of the old calves are chased away by the herd to seek territory of their own.
How long do lions live?
Lions have lives relatively short. Under ideal conditions and in a environment protected, such as National Parks, a lioness can reach 12 to 14 years of age, while males rarely exceed 8. However, cases of particularly long-lived lionesses are known, reaching almost 20 years of age. wild.