Habitat: Varied from the rich grasslands of East Africa to the sands of the Kalahari Desert.
Geographical spread: S Sahara to S Africa, excluding Congo rainforest belt; NW India (a remnant population of about 280 Asiatic lions in Gir Forest Sanctuary).
Status: There were 7 subspecies of lion, but two, the Barbary (P. I. Ieo) and the Cape (P. I. malanochiata) lions are now extinct. Of the 5 living subspecies of lion all are CITES listed. The Angolan (P. I. bleyenberghi), Asiatic (P. I. persica), Senegalese (P. I. senegalensis) and Transvaal (P. 1. krugeri) lion subspecies are all considered endangered by the IUCN.
Current population: 150-200 Asiatic lions ?
Size: Male head and body length 2.6-3.3m, tail length 60-100cm, shoulder height 1.2m; female head and body length 2.4-2.7 m, tail length 60-100cm, shoulder height 1.1m.
Weight: Males 150-240kg; females 122-182kg.
Average life expectancy: 15 years in the wild and 24 years in captivity.
Normal diet: The bulk of a lions diet comprises animals weighing 50-500kg (such as zebra, wildebeest, antelopes, warthogs) although it is also an opportunistic feeder known to eat rodents, hares, small birds and reptiles. Lions share their ranges with leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and spotted hyenas which also feed on the same prey species. Competition between these species may not be too great as lions tend to eat larger prey animals and are more likely to kill healthy adult prey than the other carnivores.
Normal lifestyle: Lions live in prides which usually consist of 4-12 related adult females, their offspring and 1-6 adult males. Lions spend much of their time in one of several groups within the pride. Pride males may be related, but are usually related to the females. Both sexes defend the territory but the males are more active in doing so. Territorial boundaries are maintained by roaring, urine marking and patrolling. Territories of different prides may overlap in some places, but each pride has its own central core area which is for its own exclusive use. A pride will range over an area of between 20 and 400sqkm depending largely on food availability. Lions stalk prey together, fanning out to encircle the prey and cut off any escape routes. Prey is generally eaten by all members of the pride, males needing 7kg meaVday, whilst females need 5kg/day. Female members of a pride rear their offspring together and will suckle cubs other than their own. On average a female will give birth to 2-3 cu bs although may have as many as 5. Cubs begin eating meat at 3 months. 80% of cubs die in their first 2 years of life generally as a result of starvation. After 2 years cub survival is no longer related to food abundance. Lions reach sexual maturity at 3 6-46 months. At 2.5-3 years old, young subadults are driven out of the pride. Males in a pride are very close, they fight fiercely together against strange males but will not fight each other for receptive females.
Previous geographical range: Cave paintings and archaeological finds indicate that lions were widespread in Europe 15,000 years ago and were found in Greece in 300BC, Crusaders saw lions in the Middle East. Until the turn of the century lions were found in much of the Middle East and northern India.
Reasons for decline: Has been considered for centuries as the 'King of Beasts' and this image still lures hunters to Africa today, in order for them to show off their prowess and courage by killing one of these magnificent beasts. Of course under these circumstances courage has nothing to do with it and there is nothing particularly brave about shooting a lion in a gamepark from the safety of a vehicle. Nowadays hunting is strictly controlled but in the past there were no restrictions on hunters who regularly killed up to a dozen per hunting trip. Although lions are not immediately threatened with extinction their future is far from secure. The y are still killed illegally, trapped in snares set for other animals. A very real threat comes from the fact that the prey on which lions depend need large areas of land, this is a resource that is becoming increasingly scarce. As agriculture spreads, l ions are quickly eliminated, either shot for their attacks on cattle, or forced out as their food source is destroyed.
Current threats: Encroachment of humans and diminishing land space.
Conservation projects: Much of their range is encompassed by parks, where ecotourism enables people to come and shot these animals with cameras rather than guns. An example where the lion has been saved by protecting their habitat has happened in India in the Gir Forest where the last few Asiatic lions are found. This protection has enabled these lions to live relatively undisturbed but their growing numbers in this small area is putting them under increasing pressure. As an isolated population t he Asiatic lion could be wiped out very easily by disease or some such thing and I believe there are plans to relocate some of the Gir Forest lions to another area to decrease the risk of this happening.
File last modified Thursday, October 3, 1996