Post by Jeff on Apr 9, 2007 11:21:11 GMT -5
WEIGHT:
MALE 150-250 kg (330-550 lb)
FEMALE 120-180 kg (265-395 lb)
DIET: Antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, smaller carnivores, and occasionally Cape buffalo, giraffe, and young elephants
GESTATION: 98-105 days; on average 2-4 cubs born
SEXUAL MATURITY:
MALE 5 years
FEMALE 4 years
LIFE SPAN: Up to 30 years in captivity, 15 years average
RANGE: sub-Saharan Africa
HABITAT: Grasslands and semi-arid plains
POPULATION: GLOBAL Unknown
STATUS: IUCN Not listed
CITES Not listed
USFWS Not listed
FUN FACTS
1. Lions are the only truly social cat species, and usually every female in a pride of 5-37 individuals is closely related.
2. An adult lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away and warns off intruders or reunites scattered pride members.
3. While lions are inactive up to 21 hours a day, in the darkest, coolest hours of early morning the "queens of beasts" hunt as a team to catch a communal meal.
4. Pride lionesses frequently enter breeding season together and later give birth at the same time which allows them to share nursing and other maternal duties.
5. Although only one out of four hunting events is successful, dominant males always eat first, lionesses next, and cubs scramble for scraps and leftovers.
ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
Lions are the largest African carnivores and a hungry lion pride feeds on many animals that pass through or share its home range. As specialized communal predators, a pride's role includes keeping herbivore populations in balance with the resources available in their area of the plains.
MALE 150-250 kg (330-550 lb)
FEMALE 120-180 kg (265-395 lb)
DIET: Antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, smaller carnivores, and occasionally Cape buffalo, giraffe, and young elephants
GESTATION: 98-105 days; on average 2-4 cubs born
SEXUAL MATURITY:
MALE 5 years
FEMALE 4 years
LIFE SPAN: Up to 30 years in captivity, 15 years average
RANGE: sub-Saharan Africa
HABITAT: Grasslands and semi-arid plains
POPULATION: GLOBAL Unknown
STATUS: IUCN Not listed
CITES Not listed
USFWS Not listed
FUN FACTS
1. Lions are the only truly social cat species, and usually every female in a pride of 5-37 individuals is closely related.
2. An adult lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away and warns off intruders or reunites scattered pride members.
3. While lions are inactive up to 21 hours a day, in the darkest, coolest hours of early morning the "queens of beasts" hunt as a team to catch a communal meal.
4. Pride lionesses frequently enter breeding season together and later give birth at the same time which allows them to share nursing and other maternal duties.
5. Although only one out of four hunting events is successful, dominant males always eat first, lionesses next, and cubs scramble for scraps and leftovers.
ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
Lions are the largest African carnivores and a hungry lion pride feeds on many animals that pass through or share its home range. As specialized communal predators, a pride's role includes keeping herbivore populations in balance with the resources available in their area of the plains.