Celebrate World Lion Day with 10 Amazing Lion Facts

Lions signify courage, strength, and power. Spending up to 20 hours a day sleeping or resting, they are the laziest of the big cats. They can be found lying on their backs with their feet up or taking a snooze in the shade. While lazing around, they are very affectionate towards one another, rubbing heads, grooming, and purring.

Nothing represents the essence of Africa more than the symbol of the lion. At Lion World Travel, our love for Africa is embodied in our name and mascot – Lionel.

1) Lions Are Social

The most sociable of the big cats, they live in prides of related females and their offspring. The typical pride consists of ten to fifteen lions, with adult females, their cubs, and a few males. Some lion prides can be as large as 40 members.

2) LIONS NEED TO EAT EVERY DAY

Lions can go up to four days without drinking water, but they need to eat every day. Adult lionesses eat about 11 pounds of meat each day, while adult males eat 16 pounds or more. They prey on large herbivores like zebra and wildebeest, and occasionally feed on smaller animals like mice, birds, hares, and lizards.

3) LIONESSES DO MOST OF THE HUNTING

Lionesses are the primary hunters. They are smaller, more agile than males and use teamwork to bring an animal down. After a successful hunt, all the lions in the pride share the meal. There is a pecking order, with adult males eating first, followed by the lionesses and finally the cubs. 

4) Lions Are Superb Hunters

Lions hunt by ambush. Fanning out, they form a semicircle, with the smaller lionesses herding the prey towards the center. A lion’s vision is roughly six times more sensitive to light than humans, giving them a distinct advantage when hunting at night. 

Lion’s claws reach up to 1½ inches in length, allowing for incredible control when going in for a kill. Lions can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and can jump up to 36 feet. 

5) Lions Do Not Live in Jungles

Although lions are known as the “king of the jungle”, lions in Africa do not actually live in a jungle. Their primary habitats are Africa’s grasslands and plains. Three of the five largest lion populations are found in the savannas of Tanzania.

6) HOW LIONS COMMUNICATE

Lions communicate by using roars, growls, moans, and grunts. A lion's roar can be heard up to 5 miles away as a warning to other predators and to protect their territory. Also, by leaving scent markings and through visual signals, such as the darkness of the mane. They rub their heads on one another as an act of bonding and to spread the "family scent". 

7) RAISING THEIR CUBS 

Females in the pride tend to give birth around the same time, allowing for multiple litters to be raised together. Lionesses take care of their cubs until they are two or three. The mother then goes through estrus (heat cycle) and carries another litter. This is when the pride forces the male lion cubs and some female lion cubs out. Male lions do not directly participate in the parenting, but they will protect the pride's cubs from danger.

8) LION CUB FACTS

When they are born, the cubs eyes are closed, opening when they are three weeks old. This is when they are vulnerable to attack from large birds, and even male lions. A lioness will keep her cubs hidden for six weeks until they are old enough to follow the pride.  

The cubs are full of life and grow up playing with the other youngsters in the pride building strength and family bonds. 

9) LIONS ARE THE SECOND LARGEST BIG CAT

Only slightly smaller than the Siberian tiger, the lion is the second largest of the big cats, with a muscular deep-chested body. Unlike other big cats that are solitary hunters, lions are social hunters. Male lions can weigh up to 550 pounds, while female lions weigh up to 390 pounds.

Video of a Majestic, Big Male Lion Walking, by African Anthology