LION (Simba)

Pathera leo

Weight: Males 420-500lb (190-225kg) Female 250-300lb (110-135kg)

Height; 3ft 4in- 4ft  (1-1.2cm)

Length; 5ft 7ft plus tail 2ft-4in-3ft-3in(70cm-1m

Gestation 3.5-months

Young 2-4(up to 6)

Lifespan 15-20 years

IDENTIFICATION

Female are smaller than males, males begin to show a noticeable growth of mane at 1.5 years old and full develop at 5 to 6 years. Lions have a claw like horny spine in their tsil-tuft

VOICE

Lions roar to marl their territory and as a contact call between pride members. In dry conditions the roar can be heard for up to 3 miles (5km) and when the air is moist the sound travels even father. They use a variety of sounds in aggressive situation from a deep rumbling growl to explosive grunts, snarls and hisses. A lioness calls her cubs with a soft, throaty “eoaw” ugh” repeated several times. Cubs grizzle and “eaow” repeatedly when distressed.

HABITAT

Lions live in Lightly wooded country, rocky outcrops, thorn bush and thickets bordering open plains. Lions generally don’t like densely forested areas.

HABITS

Nocturnal and diurnal, hunting mainly at night and at dawn and dusk. Lions males and femals live togethers in groups called prides. The core of each pride is a number of closely related females (ussully 2 to 6 sometimes up to 12 and their cubs together with a coalition of two to four up to six mature males who are often brithers or cousins but are not related to the females.

Females remains in their prides for the lifetime while young males are forced to leave when their two or three years old to prevent inbreeding. Pride territories may be a small as 20 sq. km in high density lions areas or as large as 400 sq. km in marginal habitats. You g lioness  may also become nomadic, particularly if there are already a large number of adult lioness in their pride, at the time they manage to form a new pride by excising part of their natal  territory and expanding into the periphery of other prides territories.

Lions they usually mark their territory by roaring and scent marking with urine and anal gland secretions. Pride males rub their manes against bushes and spray them with urine, and all pride members claw the trunks of trees, leaving scent from their inter digital gland, that habit help them to sharpen their claws. And sometimes they fight up to death.

Small cubs are invariably killed by the new males thereby ensuring that the lioness quickly come into oestrus again, allowing the new males to sire their own cubs rather than protecting them. Lions spend 16-20 hours per day resting, usually in place of shade and females with young cubs are very dangerous.

Lions relay on stealth to get close to their prey, they usually having a speed of 50-60 Kph when chasing their prey. The main hunter is a lioness but they give way to males at a kill and division of labour does works to the advantage of the whole pride.

REPRODUCTION

Lioness usually get pregnant when they are three to four years  and they produce two to four cubs once two years when cubs survive. When cubs die they come back into oestrus within four weeks however when the cubs are killed by males it usually take three months for the lioness to conceive.

A lioness gives birth to in a place of concealment such as thicket or rocky outcrop. Then they remain hidden for the first six to eight weeks. Usually cubs weight 1-2 kg at birth and their eyes open towards the end of a second week.

Cubs start eating meat at six weeks old and are weaned  at six to eight months and they start being competent in hunting at two years but they still live in their pride up to four or five years.

FOOD

Lions have an ability to overpower a wide variety of herbivores, including wildebeest, zebra, topi, hartebeest, warthogs, buffaloes, giraffes, impalas and gazelles. They usually kill their prey by strangulation and when there is a lot of food males eat 40kg at an empty stomach while lioness eats 27 kg.

PREDATION

Sometimes lion are eaten by hyenas when they become old or sick as well as young are preyed by hyenas, leopards and jackals.

Written By; Imani Lubaba, rubabaimani@gmail.com +255764148221