Lions
Scientific Name: Panthera leo
Habitat
Lions live, like most of the other animals on this site, in two places worldwide. The first is in zoos around the world, and the other is on the beautiful African plains. They live where the long, golden, free grass grows, but they don't eat it. They only live in it. They also live there with zebras, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, and such. They live in big groups throughout the plains, and share everything with the acacia-tree-and-grass-eaters. They also live in a tiny little part of Asia in the Gir Forest of India, but that's it. That's probably where they got their nickname, King of Jungle, since they live in the plains in Africa.
Diet
Yummy zebra! (Poor zebra!)
Lions are carnivores (like every cat), which means that they eat meat. They eat what they can find on the savannas, such as zebras, giraffes, gazelles, and if they're lucky a baby elephants, rhino, or hippo. When the group of lions, called a "pride", eats, first the males eat, then the females eat, and then the little babies eat. Also, the females do all the hunting in the pride, while the males are sitting around baby sitting. Weird, huh?
Description
Such a sleepy boy!
Lions look a lot like cats except they're bigger, they're stronger, they roar, and lions have big puffy manes to protect their necks. However, only male lions have manes. The females don't, and neither do the cubs (unless they're boys, because then when they're older they will get manes). Also, lions roar, and don't purr, because they can't! Lions are slightly (okay, maybe a lot) bigger than your average household cat, and have razor sharp claws and teeth, as you can see from the yawning lion in the picture on the left. They are always a sandy-goldish color. They're tails are nice and long, and each one has a little tuft of darker hair on the end. Lions are very strong, and could easily beat a tiger (the biggest of the big cats) in a fight, which is probably why people gave the lion the nickname the King of the Jungle.
Types
These are female lions on the hunt.
There are two types of lions currently existing. The first is the African lion, which lives in Africa (as you may have guessed). The other is the Asiatic lion, which lives in Asia (as you may have also guessed). The third, which is an undecided species, is the mountain lion, which is native here in Colorado. Many think it should be counted as a lion, but others aren't so sure.
Fun Facts
- For lions, it is impossible to purr. They can only roar.
- Lions are the second largest of the big cats. The largest is the tiger.
- A male is rightfully called a lion, and a female lion is rightfully called a lioness.
- Lions are able to interbreed with tigers, and it creates a liger or a tigon. A tigon is when the father is a tiger and the mother is the lion. A liger is when the father is a lion and the mother is a tiger.
- Lion cubs are born with grayish spots that disappear by the time they're about 3 months old.