Lion (King of the Jungle) (Panthera leo)
Page revised 12/26/2007
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SUMMARY: The symbol of power, steadfastness, aggression, and valor, the lion has a long association with the political, artistic, and mythical dealings of mankind. They are unique among the "big cats," due to their distinctive appearance and they are the most social of all living cats, living in prides of related females, their offspring and one or a few adult males. the lion is a powerfully built, muscular cat. The fur is short and generally uniform in color, ranging from grey/buff to reddish brown in coloration with the exception of the undersides which are often white, especially in females. The lion is the second largest of the cats (the tiger is the largest) and one of the world’s biggest land carnivores. Males can exceed 9 feet in head-to-tail length and stand as high as 3 ft at the shoulder.
Interesting Features
  • Along with tigers, lions are one of the two largest living species of cats today.
  • Lions are the only true "social" cat species, living together in groups called "prides."
  • The heaviest Lion on record (in Kenya) weighed almost 600 lb
  • The roar of a lion, usually a proclamation of territory, can be heard up to 5 miles away.
  • Few lion cubs live to become breeding adults.
  • The male lion’s mane makes him look bigger than his actual size.
  • The rough tongue of lions helps them remove parasites and other insects from their coats.
  • Lions can live indefinitely without water, deriving sufficient liquid from the blood of their prey.
Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: leo
Body Length: Male 8 to 9 feet, female 7 to 8 feet
Tail Length: 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 feet
Weight: up to 550 lbs
Birth Weight: 2 to 4 lbs
Litter Size: 3 to 4 cubs average
Life Span: Lions can live for up to 15 years in the wild. Zoo lions may live up to 25 years.


Size: Adult males weigh an average of about 420 lb, females average 277 lb. Males average about 4 feet high at the shoulder and females 3 feet 8 inches. Body length ranges up to 9 feet and tail length up to 3-1/2 feet.


Color: Typically pale sandy or tawny yellow, but varying from grayish buff to yellowish red and dark ocher, with white around the mouth and on the chin, underparts, and inner sides of the legs. The male’s mane is dark tawny, reddish brown, or black.


Physical Description: Lions have strong, compact bodies and powerful forelegs, teeth, and jaws for pulling down and killing prey. Their coats are yellow-gold, and adult males have long, dark, shaggy manes. Young lions have light spotting on their coats that will disappear as they grow up.


Distribution: The distribution of the lion has diminished greatly over the last 2000 years. Formerly found throughout Africa, southern Europe and east to India, lions are now confined to sub-saharan Africa and a small population in India.


Habitat: Lions are usually found in open habitats such as grassy plains, arid woodlands, semi-desert, open plains, thick brush and dry thorn forest.


Primary prey: Lions usually kill prey larger than themselves, such as zebra, wildebeest, and buffalo but will also take smaller antelopes and warthogs. Lions will eat carrion and often steal carcasses from other predators such as hyenas, cheetahs, and wild dogs.


Conservation Status: The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (ICUN) currently lists the lion as vulnerable. (endangered in Asia).


Additional Info: The world's most extraordinary population of lions lives in the Namib Desert on Africa's wild and forbidding Skeleton Coast. The animals are some of the world's most intriguing and unique populations of lions, yet very little is known about them.

Philip Stander, a Namibian carnivore specialist, first spotted these desert lions in the mid-1980s, watching in disbelief as a lioness killed a fur seal in the waves and dragged it five miles inland to feed her cubs.
Principal threats: The greatest threats are sport hunting and conflicts with livestock farmers.
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