Lions belong to the family of wilderness-dwelling big cats.A lion is considered the king of the jungle. Wild lions are apex predators as they maintain balance among the other animals in the wild.The scientific name that’s been given to the lion is Panthera leo. Lions belong to the kingdom of Animalia and are terrestrial animals, mammals, to be precise. Lions are carnivores (and particularly strong ones at that) whose diet involves hunting and feeding on other animals. The lions live in a family system known as pride. Prides stay, eat, and migrate to different places together. A single pride may consist of just two lions or even 40 lions. While the male lion is called a lion, female lions are called the lionesses. Meanwhile, a young one of the lions is called a lion cub.Moreover, in a lion pride, it is the female lion that carries out hunting. While female lions hunt most of the time, male lions fight and protect the members of the pride from other predators. The hunt for prey is mainly carried out by female lions during the night as their eyes can see better in the dark, and they can catch their prey unaware.A lion’s diet doesn’t need anything specific. They can eat any animal they may find. Lions are said to have a large appetite. For a single meal, lions can eat about 88 lb (40 kg) of meat.A lion’s tongue has papillae which are sharp-pointed rasps that aid them in scraping the meat off the bones of their prey. They do not eat the bones of the dead animals. Instead, the bones become the food for other scavengers and small predators.Lions rule the kingdom of the wild because of their fierce personality. Male lions have manes of hair around their head that gives them a royal and intimidating appearance. Furthermore, lions are the only wild cats in the world that live together in prides, and also roar together.Although lions are predators who hunt and prey upon other animals to survive, their populations have drastically reduced. This decrease in the population of this animal species could be because of their captivity and inadequate treatment, loss of their natural habitat, that is, the wild, and so on. There are many wildlife conservation initiatives undertaken to protect the species of lions.The lifespan of the lions in the wild can be up to 15 years. However, it can be increased to around 30 years in captivity if they are treated right. This is because of the regular availability of food and no need to fight off predators.One interesting fact about lions is that three lion heads are the national emblem of the country of India. This emblem is also present on the coins of India.How much does the average lion weigh?Lions, be it females or males, are pretty intimidating with their tall and broad stature. This big wild cat is considered to be a heavyweight animal.The typical average weight of an adult male lion is about 420-570 lb (190.5-258.5 kg). Meanwhile, the weight of an adult female lion is generally about 280-400 lb (127-181.4 kg). This means that the females weigh less than the males.The male lion with the heaviest weight was measured to be around 600 lb (272.15 kg).Even in terms of height, males are bigger than females. Yet, the difference isn’t too large. It is the same case with the body length of the lions too. While male lions are typically around 6 ft (1.8 m) long in length, females are slightly shorter than this length.However, this length measurement does not include the tail of the lions. If you were to just look at the length of the tail, for a male, it would typically be in the range of 2-3 ft (60-91 cm).How much does a lion cub weigh?Lions belong to the mammalian class, which means that females of this species give birth to young ones directly instead of laying eggs. Moreover, the females feed the cubs their milk for some time after their birth.When lionesses are ready to give birth, they go away from the pride and deliver a litter of two to six cubs. At the time they are born, the cubs weigh about 3 lb (1.36 kg) on average. They have a yellow-brown skin tone and vivid stripes or spots.At first, the cubs are hidden away from the pride for a few weeks for their protection since they are too weak and vulnerable. Once they gain some strength, they can then enter the pride.Typically, cubs are weaned off from their mother’s milk by six months. The males live for around the first two years close to their mother, while the females stay longer, some even for their entire lifetime.Once the males reach a certain age, the mother pushes them to go away from the pride and live on their own. Young males can join bachelor groups until they mature enough to threaten the older lions and take over their pride.The difference between the weight of an African and an Asiatic lionThere are different subspecies of lions that can be found in the wild. Two of the most well-known subspecies of lions are African lions and Asiatic lions.The majority of the lion population is found in the continent of Africa, below the Saharan desert. However, a small portion of this population is found specifically in the Gir Forest National Park, India.The African lion of the western and central parts of Africa is said to be more closely related to the Asiatic lion rather than the lions of the south and east of Africa.The adult male African lion weighs about 330-500 lb (149.6-226.8 kg) on average. Meanwhile, the average weight of the Asiatic lion, which is also known as the Asian lion, is about 350-450 lb (158.7-204.1 kg).Typically, then, we can conclude that an African lion weighs more than an Asian lion.What is heavier, a lion or tiger?Both lions and tigers are big cats and predators who prey on other animals. The body of lions, as well as tigers, is quite large, which helps them in hunting for their prey. However, there is a commonly asked question - which of them is heavier?While lions weigh about 400-500 lb (181.4-226.8 kg) on average, tigers, especially the Siberian and Bengal tiger subspecies, can weigh up to 700 lb (317.5 kg). It is, thus, clearly seen that tigers weigh more than lions. Moreover, the difference also extends to the body length. A tiger is the biggest wild cat in the world.Unfortunately, the tiger and the lion populations have reduced over the years. This is because of the encroachment of humans over the natural habitat. The lions have been listed as Vulnerable Species on the IUCN’s Red List. The wildlife conservation efforts to improve the numbers of these animals have some positive responses. Lion conservation is being supported by the San Diego Zoo in ways such as providing funds to African organizations who aid the wildlife, including lions.One of these organizations is Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) which works to protect the wildlife in many ways. They conduct anti-poaching programs, spreading awareness about conservation, reducing the wildlife-human conflicts, and so on.
Lions belong to the family of wilderness-dwelling big cats.
