20 Interesting facts about lions.

IMPORTANT facts about lions:

How large are Lions?

From the tip of their black noses to the end of their tufted tails, these magnificent beasts can measure over ten feet [3 m] in length, and they can weigh more than 500 pounds [225 kg].

How much do Lions sleep?

The life of a lion is divided between long hours of sleeping and short periods of hunting and mating. The fact is, lions can be found resting, sleeping, or sitting an incredible 20 hours a day.

How strong are Lions?

Hunting in prides, they have been known to pull down and kill animals weighing over 3,000 pounds. [1,300 kg] In the initial chase, lions can reach speeds of up to 36 miles [59 km] an hour, but they cannot sustain that speed for long.

How many miles can a Lion’s roar be heard?

Lions purr quietly when contented yet can utter a mighty roar that is audible for five miles [8 km].

At times they seem to be lazy and lethargic, but they have the ability to move with surprising speed.

Man has immortalized the lion for its courage, and a brave person is said to be lionhearted.

Other Interesting facts about lions

Fact 1:A lion may sleep up to 20 hours a day.

Fact 2:They are 6 times more sensitive to light than humans.

Fact 3:Lions mostly eat large animals, such as zebra and wildebeest.

Fact 4: The lion is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Fact 5:Lionesses are better hunters than males and do most of the hunting for a pride.

Fact 6:Lions can reach speeds of up to 81 kph (50 mph) but only in short bursts because of a lack of stamina.

Fact 7:A good gauge of a male lion’s age is the darkness of his mane. The darker the mane, the older the lion.

Fact 8:Female lions mate about every two years, giving birth to one to six cubs after a three-and-half-month gestation period.

Fact 9:Ancient Egyptians venerated lions as their war dieties due to their strength, power and fierceness.

Fact 10:The lion was once found throughout Africa, Asia and Europe but now exists only in Africa with one exception.

Fact 11:A lion’s back teeth (called carnassals) work like a pair of scissors, which comes in handy when tackling a fresh piece of meat.

Fact 12:The population of these vulnerable animals has dramatically decreased in the past few decades with no solid reason

Fact 13:A lion’s eyesight is five times better than a human being.

Fact 14: Lions rarely eat an entire prey, leaving the rest for other animals such as vultures

Fact 15:Lions go on the hunt for food mostly from dusk till dawn.

Fact 16:Lionesses aren’t the most successful of hunters, because they usually score only one kill out of several tries.

Fact 17:Lions can go four days without drinking.

Fact 18:Each adult lion needs 10-15 pounds of meat every day.

Fact 19:A lion can run for short distances at 50 mph and leap as far as 36 feet.

Fact 20:A lion’s roar can be heard from as far as 5 miles away.

Animal - South African White Lions

The white lion is occasionally found in wildlife reserves in South. It has been perpetuated by selective breeding in zoos around the world. White lions are not a separate subspecies and they have never been common in the wild. Regarded as divine by locals, white lions first came to public attention in the 1970s in Chris McBride’s book The White Lions of Timbavati. The greatest population of white lions is in zoos where they are deliberately bred for color. The population of the white lion is unknown but the most recent count was in 2004 and 30 were alive.White lions are not albino lions. Instead, thewhite color is caused by a recessive gene known as chinchilla or color inhibitor. Coloration gives white lions a distinct disadvantage in nature because they are highly visible. This gives them away to theirprey and makes them an attractive target for hunters. The chinchilla mutation, a recessive gene, gives white lions their unusual colors. A similar gene also produces white tigers. White lions in canned hunt camps have been found to have hind-limb paralysis and serious heart defects, indicating a severe level of inbreeding involved in mass-production although they are rare in the wild