We explain everything about the lion, the type of habitat in which it lives and the abilities of this feline. Also, its characteristics and feeding.
The lion is one of the most admired animals for its fierceness and strength.
What is a lion?
The lion (scientific name Panthera leo) is a quadrupedal mammal of the felid familytypical of sub-Saharan Africa and some regions of the Congo and India. It occupies the top position in the food chain, as it is one of the largest predators on the planet today.
Since the dawn of mankind, the lion has been one of the animals most admired for its fierceness and strength, and for those same reasons feared and hunted. He is known as the “King of the Jungle” or “King of the Animals,” and his grave roar is well known.
The lions are currently a species threatened by human activityand their numbers have decreased dramatically since the invention of firearms.
Origin of lions
The lions are related to the other large feline predators like the tiger and the jaguar, which came from central Asia 3.5 million years ago.
However, the species Panthera leo emerged in Africa approximately 1 million years agoseparating itself evolutionarily from the rest during the Pleistocene.
At some point it spread throughout America, Europe and the Middle East, giving rise to other species that are now extinct. In fact, in Greco-Roman antiquity It was common to find lions in the Asian Mediterranean regionssuch as Türkiye, Israel, Palestine and even Greece.
Lion habitat
Most lions today live in Eastern and Southern Africa.
The lion It is a species adapted to life in the savannahon the plains where they can run at high speeds. They usually seek shelter from the sun under acacias and other trees in the African region, where they hunt antelopes, emus and other endemic species.
Most lions today They live in eastern and southern Africawhere its population is estimated to not exceed one thousand adult specimens.
Lion Characteristics
Lions pounce on their prey by grabbing it with their front claws.
Among the main characteristics of lions, the following stand out:
- Its size. Lions are large quadrupedal animals with golden or light beige fur, which They can reach a weight between 160 and 260 kg for males and between 120 and 182 kg for females. They are about three metres long, from head to tip of tail.
- His hunting skills. Lions are very agile and fast when hunting. Their physical strength allows them to pounce on their prey by grabbing it with the claws of their front legs. They then bite the prey’s neck until it suffocates or bleeds out.
- Their feeding. Lions are predators, not domesticated, that can eat up to 7 kilos of meat a day.
- His physical appearance. Male lions can be distinguished from females by their long, dark-coloured manes around their necks, which allow them to appear larger than they are during confrontations with competitors.
- Your communication skills. Lions have a great vocalization capacity and can make the most intense roar of all the feline species in the world.
- Your life expectancy. The Lions They can live between 14 and 20 yearsThe ferocity of lions is legendary, and many males meet a violent death in combat against younger ones, competing for pride primacy and access to females.
Personality of the lion
Lion prides can range from 4 to 37 members.
The Lions They are the most sociable of felines. They form packs in which the females bond family-wise, raising their cubs together, under the presence of a few males.
These groups They can range from 4 to 37 members and occupy a well-defined territory, where the presence of intruding lions is not tolerated. The number of members depends directly on the abundance of prey.
Females, in fact, can hunt in groups.sharing food for the benefit of the pack. Males, on the other hand, must hunt their own food and can also wander alone, being called nomadic males, lacking territory. Their habits, in general, are more active at night.
lion feeding
Hunting is in the genes of lions and a pride of them can unleash the fiercest chase, although for relatively short distances. Their diet is purely carnivorous. and may occasionally eat carrion.
The Lions They invest a lot of energy in the pursuit of prey and they frequently fail in their attempts. Therefore, they spend a lot of time lurking and take advantage of the opportunities provided.
Reproduction of the lion
Lion cubs do not open their eyes until a week after they are born.
By the age of four, most lions have already reproduced. In each litter there are between one and four babies.. During their various periods of heat, females and males can copulate between 20 and 40 times a day. Once internal fertilization has occurred, gestation takes an average of 110 days.
The babies They do not open their eyes until a week after birth.. Therefore, her full care is the responsibility of her mother, who moves them from burrows several times during the nine to ten weeks it takes for them to integrate into the herd.
Breastfeeding can occur collectivelysince lionesses from the same pride usually synchronize their reproductive cycles and have cubs at the same time.
Ancestors of lions
Genetic studies of the lion and other feline species have revealed that all They are descendants of the Asian tigerwhose oldest remains, found in Tibet in 2010, date back 5 million years.
Native to central Asia, it is estimated that these animals They spread throughout the world in the times before the last ice age and thus gave rise to a family of big cats: lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars and leopards.
The lion in cultures
Lions are part of numerous shields and emblems.
Lions have aroused human admiration since ancient times. Its majestic bearing, its ferocity and its deafening roar They became symbols of human bravery.to the point that it became a frequent icon of warrior banners and a totem animal.
The ancient Romans knew and admired themand are believed to have been fed to Christians in the ancient Colosseum as a form of entertainment.
Christianity saw the lion as a symbol of Jesus Christ.and also of Saint Mark, one of its four evangelists. For this reason, it was common during the Middle Ages to see the lion converted into an emblem of royal houses and of the Christian military aristocracy of the time.
This symbol was inherited from the mythical Lion of Judah mentioned in the Genesis of the Biblesymbol of the descendants of David, second monarch of the united kingdom of Judah and Israel. Its mane also refers to the crown of the sun, as well as its golden color, which is why it was considered a celestial, mythical, sacred animal.
Lions in danger of extinction
The lion is a vulnerable specieswhose encounters with humanity have caused the rapid and dramatic decline of their territory or through poaching.
Over the past 100 years, the world’s lion population has declined rapidly, despite the efforts of nature reserves and national parks to preserve them. Today, there are around 20,000 lions living in a few regions of sub-Saharan Africa.