West African Lion

Panthera leo leo

Easy (Promiscuous)

The **West African Lion** (*Panthera leo leo*) is a large African feline featured in the Standard Edition of *Planet Zoo*.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population in the Wild:** 250

Although there are an estimated 20,000 lions in the African wilderness today, the West African lion (or Panthera leo leo) numbers far, far fewer. Only 250 still remain across the entire continent making the subspecies one of the most threatened of its kind in the world. It currently falls under the 'critically endangered' conservation status.

The reason for the lions' dwindling numbers is twofold. Firstly, they have succumbed to the devastating effects of poaching. Secondly, the ongoing conversion of their habitat has disrupted their way of life, which has finally resulted in dwindling numbers of prey available for them to hunt. Their decline has spurred on a conservation effort to protect the remaining population, including the establishment of major National Parks around the lion's hunting ranges. The key aim being to monitor their continued reproduction and survival.

To an untrained eye, West African lions look familiar to other subspecies of lion - a rich and sandy coloured fur, deeply darkened tail tuft, and the unmistakable manes boasted by the impressive males. However, the group is a genetically distinct subpopulation of the species, meaning they will never mate with any other types of lion they may encounter in life on the sub-Saharan plains.

### Social

West African lions are truly social creatures - a wild pride has a defined hierarchy that is comprised of the alpha male, one or two beta males, several related females and, lastly, their young cubs. The group is playful with one another and rarely ever turns aggressive unless the alpha male is provoked by a rival male. There are also young males who do not manage to find a pride with the traditional hierarchy - these 'bachelor' lions often form small groups to hunt and travel with.

### Reproduction

In a lion pride, the alpha male of the group mates with the mature females, who will be pregnant for 3.5 months and usually have a litter of 2 to 3 cubs. The young lions themselves mature differently depending on their sex - the males will leave to acquire their own pride as they grow older, while the young females will remain with the mother. If the alpha male is ousted or killed by his challenger, the newly dominant lion will kill the cubs that are not his. This is because the pride's females will only mate while they do not have cubs to look after.

## Animal Care

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Frozen Blood Pumpkin · Piñata Zebra · Restraint Feeder
Blood Scent Marker · Cardboard Box · Firehose Ball · Large Ball · Prey-Scented Sack · Rubbing Pad · Scratching Post · Sprinkler · Large Snow Ball · Gift Box · Scots Pine/Tamarind Scratching Tree · Rubbing Pad Bark

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

* The roar of an adult male can be heard from 8km away.
* Lions are the most social of the big cats.
* Lions can reach speeds of up to 50 mph when running.
* Female lions do 90% of the hunting.
* Male lions spend their time defending their territory and females from rival males.

### Other Trivia

* Recent taxonomy categorizes the West African lion as a population of the Northern lion, one of the two currently valid lion subspecies (the other being the Southern lion).
* They are one of many social animals that require one male and everyone else to be a female. Many herbivores and some primates have a similar social requirement as well.
* Even though the game calls them the West African Lion, the map in the Zoopedia shows the range of the African Lion in general, not just the west African subspecies.

## Gallery

### Image Gallery

white cubLion male with females in the backgroundWest African Lion cubA lioness engaging in flower sniffing, a new mechanic brought into the game with the 1.10 update