The Lion King is the name of a movie. It also names that animal’s place in creation. Panthera leo is an apex predator. Lions hunt other animals but other animals do not hunt lions.
Lions attack to steal food. They brawl among themselves. When male lions win a battle to take over a pride, they want to kill the cubs. Female lions fight to protect their young. With such a life, only one of eight male lions reaches adulthood. Of those, most will not die of old age. Male lions are more likely to die of injuries from combat.
You might be thinking, “With such a violent life, it’s no wonder there are fewer lions!” You would be right about the numbers. (A century ago, there were about 200,000 lions. Today there are no more than 40,000.) But you would be wrong about why lion populations have shrunk. By God’s design, when lions are left to their violent and wild life, they actually thrive. Lion populations are actually shrinking because of habitat loss and hunters.
Lions kill because it is in their nature. They have no choice. But people do have a choice. People can find ways to live where lions live without destroying one of God’s most magnificent creatures.
Fun-to-Know Facts
• A day in the life: Lions spend a few hours traveling, a few hours hunting, and about 20 hours lounging and sleeping.
• Speed: Lions run 50 miles per hour in short sprints.
• Voice: If you have a cat, you know what a variety of sounds a lion might make: growl, snarl, meow, roar, purr, puff, bleat, and hum. A lion’s roar can be heard up to three or four miles away.
• Weight: Females weigh around 280 pounds. Males weigh around 420 pounds.
• Habitat: They live in grassy plains, scrub, brush, and open woods.
• Diet: Lions eat about a dozen pounds of meat per day.
• Social: Lions are the only cats that live in groups. A pride of about 15 lions will include a few males and several females with their young. Females stay with the pride but young males leave on their own or are eventually forced out. They go on to take over other prides.
• Hunting: Males defend the pride’s territory. The hunting area claimed by those males can be about 100 square miles, but the females bring home the meat. Lions can work together to take down animals much larger than themselves (like rhinos and giraffes) and animals faster than themselves (such as antelope and wildebeest). Most people don’t realize that lions are also scavengers. In fact, a large part of their food comes from game muscled away from other carnivores such as hyenas and cheetahs.
