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February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: The Lion

Lions are very social creatures. They live in prides and often act like large housecats - sleeping, napping, and resting for most of the time. They also have short bursts of activity for hunting and playing.

South African male lions have manes, unlike their Kenyan relatives, the Tsavo lions, which are maneless.

Males do less hunting, but they guard the pride’s territory. Males battle for dominance in the pride. When males take over a pride, they usually kill the cubs. The females come into estrus and the new males sire other cubs. Males also guard the cubs while the lionesses are hunting, and they make sure the cubs get enough food. Cubs are taken care of by the whole pride – nursing from any of the mothers.

Lions kill be knocking down their prey and going for the throat. Being smaller, faster, lighter and more agile than males, the female lion does most of the hunting. They hunt in a coordinated fashion. Smaller females chase the prey towards the center. The larger and heavier lionesses ambush or capture the prey.

Lions digest their food quickly, which allows them to return soon for a second helping after gorging themselves. You’ll often see them with HUGE stomachs, just laying around a kill.

Lions can often survive in extreme drought conditions, eating tsama melons for moisture in the desert.

Because they often take over kills made by hyenas, cheetahs and leopards, scavenged food provides more than 50 percent of their diets in areas like the Serengeti plains.

Latin Name: Panthera leo
A Group Is Called: A Pride (More At: Critter Collectives)

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Also on Perlgurl.Org:
Photos: San Francisco Zoo - Adult Male Lion
Bats In The Belfry & Lions In The Tower
Canis Africanus

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:43 PM