Lion

LionessThe lion (Panthera leo) is one of the four 'big cats' in the genus Panthera. The tiger is the largest of the big cats and the second place is for the lion. They can become 10 to 14 years in the wild and the male can weigh as much as 225 kilograms. Their main threats are inbreeding, because remaining populations became isolated. Lions usually hunt at night and dawn, hunting on antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, wildebeest, buffalos and zebras, but also carrion from hyenas or African wild dogs. Lions can run as fast as 60 kilometers per hour, but cannot maintain that speed fo a very long time. Lions can either be 'nomads', or 'residents'. When lions are in groups (prides) of related females, their young and 1 to 4 males (a 'coalition'), they are said to be 'residents'. When one or two lions migrate over great distances, they are said to be 'nomads'. Lions spend about 20 hours per day resting. Did you know a lion can be crossbred to produce a liger or tigon (ligers (male lion and a tigress) and tigons (male tiger and a lioness) are crossbreeds of a lion and a tiger), leopons (crossbreed a lion and a leopard), and a jaglion (jaglions are crosbreeds between a jaguar and a lion).

Keywords: mane

Which zoos have them?
Artis (Netherlands), Dublin Zoo (Ireland) and Saint Louis Zoological Park (United States)

The African lion, lion is listed as Vulnerable (VU), considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild, on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Namings for the lion
A young / baby of a lion is called a 'cub'. The females are called 'lioness' and males 'lion'. A lion group is called a 'pride'.
Some facts about the
Lion

Adult weight : 175 kg (385 lbs)

Maximum longevity : 27 years

Female maturity :1095 days

Male maturity : 1095 days

Gestation : 109 days

Weaning : 216 days

Litter size : 3

Litters per year : 1

Interval between litters : 649 days

Weight at birth : 1.3 kg (2.86 lbs)

Weight at weaning : 8.48 kg (18.656 lbs)

Basal metabolic rate : 95 W

Body mass : 98 kg (215.6 lbs)

Temperature : 37.85 °C (100.13 °F)

Source: AnAge, licensed under CC

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