Lions


Panthera leo
The lion is the only cat to always live in a group. They live for 12-15 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity.
	The lion's body length is 170-190cm, it's tail length is 70-150cm. A male weighs 150-225kg. A female weighs 120-150kg. The male is larger and can be 50% heavier than the female.
The most common color of a lion is tawny yellow, but others are nearly white and deep ochre brown. A male lion is the only cat to have a thick mane, which signals maturity. Also, lions are the only cats to have a tuft at the end of their tail. Lion cubs are born with spots, they go away when they get older, but some stay on their legs and belly.
	Lions used to be found in Africa, Europe, and India. Now they can only be found in reserves and national parks south of the Sahara and in the Gir Forest, India. They adapt quite well. They can be found living on desert fringe, in open or woodland savannahs. Lions are absent from equatorial forests.
The lion hunts by ambush. Their main prey includes medium to large-sized mammals such as deer, warthog, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, and antelope. Lions will also scavenge for food. Also, Asiatic lions prey on domestic cattle. Lions obtain moisture from prey and plants causing them to be able to survive without water for long periods.
	Hyenas are one of the few animals who will attack lions. They can injure or kill a lion. Lions and hyenas will also kill each other in fights over prey.
A lion's group, or pride, can consist of 3-30 individuals, but average 4-6. They may live in social groups because increased hunting success, defense of young, maintenance of long-term territories, protection against individual injury and to minimize chances of getting no food at all. Female lions stay into the group they were born into. Males are kicked of the group they were born into once they reach maturity. Then they form groups with other males, often relations, who they hunt and scavenge for food with. Lions usually hunt at night. Females do most of the hunting. The largest lioness tends to charge at the prey with the other female lions at her sides chasing the prey. Males defend the group from intruders. They mark territory with urine and patrol the boundaries regularly, roaring to warn other lions that they are there. Males fight to be the leader of the group. They tend to lead for 2-3 years. The battles usually result in serious injury or death.
	Most cubs are born at the same time. Lionesses give birth to 2-5 cubs after a period of 100-116 days. All the females in the group take care of all the cubs together. Fourteen-seventy percent of cubs die before they reach two. Some new males to a group will kill all the cubs if he can have a female have cubs, he has to be the father of the cubs in the group.
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