What is a young lion called? | Reference.com What is a young lion called? A: Quick Answer A young lion is called a cub. Adult males are called lions, while adult females are called lionesses. A lion transitions from cub to adult at 24 months in age. Full Answer The young of other big wild cats, including leopards and cheetahs, are also called cubs; however, smaller wild cats such as servals have young which are called kittens, much like the domestic cat. The word "cub" was first used for the young of foxes, and did not extend to the young of lions and other large predators until the 1590s. The original English word for the young of large predators, including lions, was "whelp." Lion | Smithsonian's National Zoo Conservation Physical Description Lions have strong, compact bodies and powerful forelegs, teeth, and jaws for pulling down and killing prey. Their coats are yellow-gold. Adult males have shaggy manes that range in color from blond to reddish-brown to black and also vary in length. The length and color of the mane is believed to be determined by such factors as age, genetics and hormones.

Young lions have light spotting on their coats that will disappear as they grow up. Without their coats, lion and tiger bodies are so similar that only experts can tell them apart. Size Male lions grow larger than females, reaching up to 10 feet long (3 meters). Females reach up to 9 feet long (2.7 meters), plus a 2- to 3-foot-long tail (60 to 91 centimeters). Male lions weigh from 330 to 550 pounds (150 to 250 kilograms); females weigh 265 to 395 pounds (160 to 180 kilograms). Lions stand between 3.5 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 meters) tall at the shoulder. Native Habitat Except for a small population of the Indian lion subspecies that remains in the Gir Forest of northwest India, lions now live only in Africa, from the Sahara's southern fringe to northern South Africa. They are absent from equatorial areas dominated by moist tropical forest. Lions inhabit a wide range of habitats, from open plains to thick brush and dry thorn forest, avoiding only wet tropical forest.

Food/Eating Habits Lions eat primarily large animals, such as zebra and wildebeest, weighing from 100 to 1,000 pounds (45 to 453 kilograms). In times of shortage, they also catch and eat a variety of smaller animals from rodents to reptiles. Lions steal kills from hyenas, leopards and other predators, but may also lose their catches to hyena groups. Lions may also feed on domestic livestock, especially in areas near villages. The Smithsonian's National Zoo's lions eat ground beef, which is commercially produced to meet the nutritional needs of carnivores. Twice a week, they receive knucklebones or beef femurs and once a week they receive rabbits, which exercise the cats' teeth and jaws. Social Structure Lions are the world's most social felines. They live in groups of related females called prides, which may comprise several to as many as 40 individuals, including adults, sub-adults (2 to 4 years old) and cubs, plus one or more resident males. Abundance of prey availability plays a significant role in the size of a lion pride. Pride mates associate in sub-groups within the pride.

Females usually stay in their mothers' prides for life, unless food scarcity forces them out. Young males are driven from their prides when they grow large enough to compete with the dominant males (usually between the ages of two and four). Young males join in coalitions, usually with brothers and cousins, and search for a pride to take over. Males entering a new pride will kill all cubs that cannot run from them. Adult males that are fortunate enough achieve residency within a pride hold tenure for an average of two years, often leaving due to eviction by another coalition of males. In India, female and male lions live apart, joining only to mate. Males take on most of defense duties, however, both males and females will mark their territories by roaring (can be heard up to five miles away) and scent marking (urine). Females raise the cubs and are the primary hunters, although males will sometimes join the females during a hunt. Depending on the prey item, several lions may stalk prey from different angles to within 100 feet (30 meters) before attacking the targeted animal. Nomadic males must hunt alone or scavenge from other animals.

Reproduction and Development Female lions usually give birth to a litter every two years. Females are receptive to mates for a few days several times a year, unless they are pregnant or nursing. Mating spurs ovulation. Females typically give birth to one to four cubs after a gestation of about three and a half months. Cubs typically nurse for six months, but start eating meat at three months Due to varied dangers, including starvation during times of food shortage and attacks by male lions taking over prides, up to 80 percent of lion cubs die within their first two years of life. Lifespan Zoo lions may live up into their late teens or early 20s. In the wild, a lioness may live up to 16 years, but males rarely live past the age of 12. More than 10,000 years ago, lions thrived from North and South America to Europe, Africa and Asia. Today, following climatic changes and after centuries of hunting and habitat degradation by people, lions live in scattered habitats across Africa (with the exception of the Gir Forest lions, which live in a national park in northwest India).

Within these areas, lions still face dangers, including habitat loss and hunting. Many have died from diseases such as distemper, which is spread by domestic dogs from villages near natural habitat. To keep lions from becoming as rare as tigers, large expanses of habitat must be carefully protected. In disease-ridden areas, ranging dogs must be kept away from lions or immunized. During the past decade, lion populations have declined by about 30 percent and there are currently an estimated 20,000 lions remaining in the wild. Several factors influence the decline of lion populations including loss of habitat, poisoning and hunting. The Gir Forest population, which consists of about 250 lions, is listed as critically endangered, is declining and suffers from inbreeding. Encyclopaedia of Babies of Beautiful Wild Animals: The Lion Cubs Encyclopaedia of Babies of Beautiful Wild Animals Babies of beautiful dangerous wild animals.

African Animal safaris Animal attacks, animals of the rainforest animal news, endangered species animal facts, animal videos, habitat loss breeding grounds, world's top tenmost dangerous animals June 13, 2011 The Lion Cubs The baby Lion information summary Cub Lions are some of the most lovable animals as far as the animal wild and the animal kingdom is concerned Lion cubs looking at the lions hunting in the Savannah lands ﻿﻿ ﻿ Swahili Name: Motto wa Simba Lions are some of the world's most dangerous animals in the world as they attack while in the wild Scientific Name: Panthera leo Size: 10 TO 48 inches high Weight: 2.2 TO 330 to 500 pounds Open Eyes : About 10 days Walk: After 10 to 15 days Run After 25 to 30 days Lifespan: 13 years in captivity Habitat: Savannah woodlands Baby lions in the wild become vulnerable to predators such as the Africa wild dogs, hyenas, cheetahs and leopards if they are not in the company of the lioness The lion cubs born in the best African safari in the world with plenty of African wildlife gives

 rise to the coming of noble King of the jungle and the head of the big five to walk the land.

Born wild the first days of life, the two to four of the cute harmless cubs of the lioness are born in the bounty vast grasslands of the Savannah which holds one of the greatest animal migration in history. Kenya Safari offers the birth of the Lion King These little cute lion babies when they are born in the lions den just like any other mountain lions, they are partially blind for the first two weeks of life. Beautiful lion pride sleeping after hunting while the baby lion keeps practicing its hunting skills to prepare to use when the young lion is grown up A lion baby shower is given day in day out and the cubs spend most of their first sixty days suckling and sleeping. By the third month they are trotting behind their mother who from her daily rounds going with the rest of the heard looking for food has to come by once in a while and sometimes has to stop from time to time when one of them becomes lost in the tall grass. With plenty of food from a variety to chose from, the lion diet is mainly composed of any live or dead animal.

The lions habitat has all what it has for its diet and all the diet Africa Safari goes need to have Cute lioness and two lion cubs in the wild after feeding beautiful amazing baby lion cubs image Since lions prefer live animals, impalas, zebras and other African animals regardless whether they are male or female, young or old, sick or well the feed will provide the lioness plenty to eat hence produces enough milk for its cubs. After a kill the lion or lioness if far away from home often brings its catch next to the lions den or to a sheltered place to eat in shade and to protect it from other wild animals and birds. At six months the young lions have begun to lick and bite the prey caught by their parents.This is the time when the taste of blood, the smell of wild animals is introduced and two months later they are weaned. The African Lion is given the green light to roam the wildlife national parks, National reserves, zoos, animal sanctuaries, circuses and peoples homesteads.

Lioness carrying its cubs to change location away from dangerous lions and dangerous habitat Being part of the lion pride doesn't come about if you don't have the lions head with all the sharp canines to reap and tear down flesh. When the cub's permanent teeth start to appear after a few months, they are truly eligible to be the princes of the African Jungle with pride. At the end of their first year, when their milk teeth have been replaced by permanent teeth, the cubs are introduced to stalking and hunting by their mother. At this time, in the company of the big lions, there is always a lot of socializing and familiarizing themselves with what they come along with. These cute baby lions, playing, running, jumping and biting with each other is always the name and thing of the day. The lion's behavior Lion cubs lost in the jungle afraid and scare of lion predators The lions habitat is mainly composed of grassland, shrubs and scrubs in the African wilderness. During lion hunting, lions attack their prey and all the lion members of the pride come to feast together.

When lions are eating their meals, all lions are very energetic and each lion will try to seize the biggest strips and chunks of meat, internal organs organs such as the animal liver, heart and hard bones. There are many interesting facts about lions. The lion with its cubs will fight over their food with their special lion growls and grunts which sometimes when not interpreted properly might change the days events during the course of the meal. The strongest of the lion's cubs ‘takes the lion’s share’. African holidays safaris are memorable with pictures of lions and cute baby lion pictures during luxurious safaris in the parks Depending on the prevailing weather conditions, wildlife or animal poaching, diseases and luck of abundant lions prey to feed on very few cubs will survive. All baby lions will remain with their mother until 18 months old, for only then will these cute baby lion cubs become the heir of the king of the African Savannah if they are lucky or the baby lion cubs will end up for sale in the black market due to lion poaching or endangered species.

The Baby Lion Spotted Coat Safari packages and trips are not interesting if Lions information feeding and breeding grounds is hard to come by The baby lion costume as far as this baby Simba king and also female lion are concerned, when the lion cubs are born, they have visible tawny black spots running down the spine and as the baby lion grows older, the cub's spotted coat disappears with time while some cubs tend to keep their spotted coat for eight months, and sometimes it can even take longer than expected. Cute lion cubs drinking water in Nile river very beautiful amazing Africa Savannah animal images Lion cubs are very cute and can be good pets but these small cute lions are not good pets The baby lion lower parts tend to be white and woolly and gradually the whiteness fades away with time. What would people say if the baby lion never lost its spots. Just as baby lions and baby tigers lose their spots, nature has its own ways just as the Male lion's mane which is not found in other breeds of lions around the world. What's the easiest way to spot a lion in the African jungle on a safari or just in the wilderness and being at the wrong time and at the wrong place.

Lions are endangered and people should save these endangered animals before the become extinct Cute lion cubs with spotted coat when they are young as they look like any other big cats Well just as you can distinguish a male chicken by its crown on its head. These cubs when they become adult male lions they will have mane because lions are the only part of the cat family in which males can be distinguishes from each other by their looks. Beautiful baby lion cubs playing with the big lionor the dominant lion in the pride Lets not forget facts about the white baby lion. The white baby lion is part of the lions family. This white lion bread rareness has nothing to do with being an albino. Like all the rest of the lions in the wild, the rest of the lion pride take the baby lion as its own and the lion doesn't segregate. Keeping the Lions pride together comes with a cost of the lioness pride in the wilderness ﻿ ﻿Introduction of the cubs to the lions pride Lion cub drinking milk away from other lion cubs Lion pride in the African Savannah dangerous forests of Africa grasslands The lions survival in the wilderness doesn't come easy. When the cubs reach about 2 months old, they have to be introduced to the pride.

At this time, the lioness is always defenseless when the father comes into contact with the cubs. The cubs have to win over the head of the pride slowly to be accepted pride. Little lions playing Baby lion taking a leak away from lion prey indangerous lion habitat As the young lion-king grows he is always astonished with the adult lions behavior during the lions social interaction. The lion cubs are always eager to learn and quickly imitate the big lions by looking at what its father is doing whether the lion scratching the ground, tearing the bark of a tree, sharpening his claws on the ebony or mahogany tree. The Power of the lions paw Lions roars communicating can reach mile and the threat lingers around the national parks zoos or any lions territory. Day in and day out as these baby lions start putting on weight, they start putting into use their front legs for pouncing and jumping on each other. Although the female lions might find it normal, the male lions will always find it annoying and brush them aside thinking of their naps. These little front paws of the cub will tend to grow stronger and gradually be able to break bones of small animals such as Impalas, antelopes and even foxes.

The paws are embedded with razor sharp nails which protrude during need and retract while not in use and with a single blow when these cubs are grown up, they can bring down any animal on the move with one strike. beautiful baby lion biting the tail a practice the baby lion needs to practice to perfect the hunting skills it will require to survive in the wild As month go by the enthusiastic lions grow very quickly and during their occasional lion hunting with their mother, with a special growl the lioness orders the baby lions to lie down while she stalks her prey with stealth, smelling and sensing which animal in the lot to catch among the weak or young ones. Beautiful lion in the wild king of the Kenyan pride lions Masai Mara National Park Kenya The lion babies eager and inquisitive to venture into their life mentoring season remain behind quietly: they watch the lioness and the pride of lions as they lumber through the tall grass of the Savannah which provide good cover while hunting and all the stages of the kill and learn how it is done.

Some of the best lion conservation projects and saving the African big cats initiatives help to protect & conserve the beautiful dangerous lions Since most hunting takes place during cloudy conditions or early hours of the evening or morning and during the dead of the night the lion king and the lioness have a better advantage as during the day the lions can be seen, smelled or heard while approaching as most of the prey have a good sense of hearing and smell and always tend to be uneasy as the king of the lions hunting technique depends on stalking within range of its prey. The great East Africa wildlife migration is a blessing for tourist and for newborn animals to walk the animal kingdom and the best time to practice the true and natural animal instincts ﻿ lion cub walking away after eating and playing ﻿During the rainy seasons when there is always plenty of lion's food, when the king of jungle has a full stomach which can last him for 3 to days and can stay hungry for more than a week, the lion king can be very tolerant towards baby lions playing or nagging the papa lion. The king lion would lets the cubs bite and scratch him and lick his face, ears and nose. The male lion even lets them climb on top of him.

Who doesn't want to be around lions if you are one of them. Well the male lion take some exceptions as this king lion always tries to be himself at all occasions. The best thing the king of the jungle does apart from being the best and the most dangerous animal is to take long naps after gulping pounds and pounds of flesh which will last him for a few days rather than playing with tail with its cubs. The lions hunting technique Catching small animals with two feet is what start with these baby lions. When scavengers such as vultures who come and perch of the carcass and try to nimble that is left from the feast of the kings of the jungle the lion cubs occasionally and cautiously approaches a vulture or any other bird of prey, a four-month-old cub longing to imitate its parents, springs on his prey. With many skills yet to be leaned and acquired and to be put into full use which might still be lacking due to poor coordination and reasoning, the this clumsy efforts end in a comical disasters Lion cubs for sale Lion cubs for sale, baby lions to adopt comes with a lot of lion research before the lions become man eaters and spell havoc in the mans environment﻿.

Lion cubs endangered species of animals A lost lion or an abandoned cub in the wilderness can be reared by humans. There are always plenty of people looking for baby lions for sale or advertisement stating baby lions to adopt and things like that. Its not a bad choice to give a home to this little baby lion. The right thing to do is to alert the nearest authorities hen you come across one which could have been abandoned by its mother, a poacher or even a n animal trader. What most people do mostly is keep them as pets which sounds fun and an obligation to the animal due to the love of the lion and the circumstances they have lead in to such a bond. One doesn't to be told that education is the best cure. In the beginning feeding the animal will be fun as it is with small baby lions if one has already experience with dogs. But with time, however, the task becomes impossible: the cub will become extremely expensive to feed and will outgrow its surroundings and without proper training it will eventually become dangerous. ﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿Lion Africa Safari in Kenya. You will enjoy the best Africa Safari in Kenya.

Lion Facts Male lion standing side-on in warm afternoon light, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana Social Structure Lions (Panthera leo) are members of the true cat family (Felidae). They are also the only true social cats, living in prides that are based on a matriarchal social structure with females forming close, usually life-long bonds. Lion prides can comprise from around four to 40 members, of which more than half will be cubs or young adults, but the average size is about 15 lions. The pride usually consists of a few generations of related females, together with their cubs and one or more adults males who can defend the pride's territory and mate with the females. Each lion pride has a specific territory that it controls. The size of a territory can vary enormously, from 20 sq km to 400 sq km, depending mainly on the concentration of available prey. While young males are expelled from the pride by the age of three, females usually remain with the pride for their whole lives. Male lions do not look after the cubs in a pride and take no part in helping raising the young, but they do protect the whole pride against other males.

Cubs are safe as long as their father is in charge of the pride. However, when a new male lion ousts the existing dominant male and takes over the pride, he normally kills any existing cubs. He does this because a female can have a litter only every two years if she raises her cubs to weaning. However, if she loses her cubs she comes into season within as little as four weeks. So it is to the male's advantage to ensure the females in the pride are available for procreation as soon as possible after he takes over, othewise he may in turn be displaced before producing his own cubs. Male lion siblings often stay together after being forced to leave the pride by the resident dominant males, usually when they reach 2½ to 3 years old. They will then live a nomadic life as young bachelors until old and strong enough to compete for a territory of their own, where they will have the benefit of working as a team in challenging a pride's resident male or males. Physical Appearance Lion male with orange-brown coat Lion male with silvery-gray coat The lion has short, tawny hair, a paler underside and a long tail ending in a black tuft.

The color of the lion's coat, which can vary from tan, orange-brown or even silvery gray to dark brown, is determined by the proportion of light hair to dark hair in the coat. Because adult male lions have manes, the lion is the only member of the cat family in which the males and females can be distinguished from each other by appearance. This of course does not apply to lion cubs, where baby males and females look the same. Baby lion cub with wooly, grayish coat Baby lion cubs have wooly, grayish coats with white spots on the lower parts, mainly the tummy and legs. Their coat changes to the more tawny color typical of adults at about three months and the white spots gradually fade with age, although in some lions the spots remain on their stomachs for their entire life. Of all the cats, lions have the strongest forequarters, which is why a lion can deliver such a deadly blow with a front paw - hard enough to break a large antelope's back. The front paws are bigger than the hind paws. The paws are fitted with heavy, sharp claws, which are specially designed weapons that can be retracted when not in use, ensuring they remain protected and sharp.

Breeding A lioness becomes sexually receptive for two to four days about once every two years, provided she raises her cubs to weaning. Mating between lions occurs about four times an hour over a period of one to four days. The female may turn her attention to one of the other pride males when the first one is worn out. See Lions Mating for pictures & video. Pride males do not compete or fight to mate with a sexually receptive lioness as she will often mate with all of a pride's males in turn as each loses interest in her, so there is no reason to compete for her favors. Females within the same pride will often have cubs at more or less the same time. This means that some females can go out to hunt while other mothers stay at home to care for the cubs. Cubs have the best chance of survival when a number of litters are born almost simutaneously as such cubs can virtually be raised in a "nursery".

Once a mother introduces her cubs to the rest of the pride when they're about two months old, it's possible that they can be suckled by any lactating females (called allo-suckling) as pride females suckle one another's cubs, with no bias towards their own. Thus one lioness may be seen suckling cubs of obviously differents sizes and ages. As males play no part in raising the cubs, providing food and training to hunt is the responsibility of the mother. Litters of up to six baby lions (but usually one to four) are born at any time of year after a gestation of 110 days. The mother initially conceals her cubs in dense cover or in a cave, away from the rest of the pride. Lioness and cubs feeding on a warthog kill At birth baby lions weigh about 1kg (2.2lbs) and are completely helpless. Their eyes open after about 10 days and they can walk at 10 to 15 days and run at 25 to 30 days. The mother will only introduce them to the rest of the pride once they're one to two months old.

Lion cubs are weaned at seven to nine months, but are unable to fend for themselves before they're 16 months old, although they start to eat meat at about three months. Cubs stay with their mothers for about two years, at which stage they're old enough to join the pride on hunting excursions. Hunting Lions are efficient predators that kill and feed on mammals like big and small antelope, wildebeest, zebras, and even larger mammals like giraffe and buffalo. To get within range of their prey, lions rely mainly on stalking and will seldom charge unless within 30 meters of the victim. When hunting larger animals, a lion usually attacks at an oblique angle before leaping and throwing one paw over the shoulder or rump and then using its weight and strength to pull down the quarry. Lion pair showing difference in size Female lions do most of the hunting for the pride because the males, with their prominent manes and larger size, are more conspicuous and more easily spotted by potential prey. On group hunts, males will usually trail behind without taking part.

However, once a prey is brought down, they soon arrive and force their way to the front of the line, eating their fill before allowing the females and cubs a turn. When more than one lion is at a kill, agression and noise are the norm. The more lions and the smaller the prey, the more intense the competition. Wild animals have to fight for a share of the spoils to survive. Males eat first, gorging themselves, and will on average eat 18kg (about 40lb) in one session, but can stuff themselves with nearly double that amount. Once they're done, it's the turn of the females to eat, with the cubs getting the leftovers. In times of food shortage, starvation is the major cause of lion cub deaths. Although this sounds cruel, it is better for the survival of the pride for a cub to starve than an adult female, which can not only hunt, but also breed again. that can be retracted when not in use, ensuring they remain protected and sharp. Lifespan The average lifespan of a male lion is 12 to 16 years, and for a female it is 15 to 18 years.

See also Lion Information for more on lions, including their average size and weight. References for above Lion Facts: Wild Ways Field Guide to the Behaviour of Southern African Mammals by Peter Apps Amazing Animals of South Africa by Dawid van Lill Beat About the Bush - Mammals by Trevor Carnaby The Behavior Guide to African Mammals by Richard Despard Estes Images © Scotch Macaskill Lion | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants ABOUT Being smaller and lighter than males, lionesses are more agile and faster. Lions have captured our imagination for centuries. Stars of movies and characters in books, lions are at the top of the food chain. The Swahili word for lion, simba, also means "king," "strong," and "aggressive." The word lion has similar meaning in our vocabulary. If you call someone lionhearted, you’re describing a courageous and brave person. If you lionize someone, you treat that person with great interest or importance. Prime habitat for lions is open woodlands, thick grassland, and brush habitat, where there is enough cover for hunting and denning. These areas of grassland habitat also provide food for the animals lions prey upon.

Lions differ from the other members of the large cat genus, Panthera—tigers, leopards, and jaguars. Adult male lions are much larger than females and usually have an impressive mane of hair around the neck. The color, size, and abundance of the mane all vary among individuals and with age. The mane’s function is to make the male look more impressive to females and more intimidating to rival males. The lion’s thick mane also protects his neck against raking claws during fights with other males over territory disputes or breeding rights. Lions are also the only cats that live in large, social groups called “prides.” A pride can have 3 to 30 lions and is made up of lionesses (mothers, sisters, and cousins), and their cubs, along with a few unrelated adult males. The pride has a close bond and is not likely to accept a stranger. The unrelated males stay a few months or a few years, but the older lionesses stay together for life. In dry areas with less food, prides are smaller, with two lionesses in charge. In habitats with more food and water, prides can have four to six adult lionesses. Both males and females scent mark to define their territory.

Living in a pride makes life easier. Hunting as a group means there is a better chance that the lions have food when they need it, and it is less likely that they will get injured while hunting. Lion researchers have noticed that some activities are “contagious” within a pride. If one lion yawns, grooms itself, or roars, it sets off a wave of yawning, grooming, or roaring! Lions and lionesses play different roles in the life of the pride. The lionesses work together to hunt and help rear the cubs. This allows them to get the most from their hard work, keeping them healthier and safer. Being smaller and lighter than males, lionesses are more agile and faster. During hunting, smaller females chase the prey toward the center of the hunting group. The larger and heavier lionesses ambush or capture the prey. Lionesses are versatile and can switch hunting jobs depending on which females are hunting that day and what kind of prey it is. While it may look like the lionesses do all the work in the pride, the males play an important role.

While they do eat more than the lionesses and bring in far less food (they hunt less than 10 percent of the time), males patrol, mark, and guard the pride’s territory. Males also guard the cubs while the lionesses are hunting, and they make sure the cubs get enough food. When a new male tries to join a pride, he has to fight the males already there. The new male is either driven off or succeeds in pushing out the existing males. A lion’s life is filled with sleeping, napping, and resting. Over the course of 24 hours, lions have short bursts of intense activity, followed by long bouts of lying around that total up to 21 hours! Lions are good climbers and often rest in trees, perhaps to catch a cool breeze or to get away from flies. Researchers have often noticed lions lying around in crazy poses, such as on their backs with their feet in the air or legs spread wide apart! Lions are famous for their sonorous roar. Males are able to roar when they are about one year old, and females can roar a few months later. Lions use their roar as one form of communication.

It identifies individuals, strengthens the pride’s bond, and lets other animals know of the pride’s domain. Other sounds lions produce include growls, snarls, hisses, meows, grunts, and puffs, which sound like a stifled sneeze and is used in friendly situations. Lions have other forms of communication as well, mostly used to mark territory. They spread their scent by rubbing their muzzle on tufts of grass or shrubs, and they rake the earth with their hind paws, as the paws have scent glands, too. Adult males also spray urine—stand back! SaveSave HABITAT AND DIET Prime habitat for lions is open woodlands, thick grassland, and brush habitat where there is enough cover for hunting and denning. These areas of grassland habitat also provide food for the animals lions prey upon. Lions usually hunt at night, particularly at dusk and dawn, with lionesses doing most of the work. A lion chasing down prey can run the length of a football field in six seconds. Their eyes have a horizontal streak of nerve cells, which improves their vision following prey across a plain. Lions have been spotted taking down animals as large as buffalo and giraffes!

They may even drag this heavy prey into thickets of brush to keep other animals from getting to it. Lions hunt antelope and other hoofed animals, baby elephants or rhinos, rodents, reptiles, insects, and even crocodiles. They also scavenge or steal prey from leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, or wild dogs, even eating food that has spoiled. Lions digest their food quickly, which allows them to return soon for a second helping after gorging themselves the first time. At the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the lions get lean ground meat made for zoo carnivores as well as an occasional large bone, thawed rabbit, or sheep carcass. FAMILY LIFE A lioness gives birth to her cubs in a secluded location away from the pride. At birth, each cub’s coat is yellowish brown and marked with distinct dark, rosette-shaped spots or, sometimes, stripes. Cubs remain hidden for four to six weeks as they gain strength, learn to walk, and play with one another and their mother. When they return to the pride, they can nurse from any adult lioness in the pride, not just their own mother.

In fact, the females in a pride often give birth around the same time, which makes for lots of playmates! Cubs born in a pride are twice as likely to survive as those born to a lioness that is on her own. However, if a new adult male takes over the pride, he may kill cubs under one year old so that he can father new ones. Under favorable conditions, a lioness can produce cubs roughly every other year. From the time they are born, cubs have a lot to learn! At three months old, cubs are able to follow their mother wherever she goes, and they are weaned by the age of six months. At about one year old, males start to get fuzz around their neck that grows into the long mane adult male lions are famous for. How long a lion cub stays with Mom depends on the sex of the cub. Mothers generally raise males until they are just about two. Once they hit that stage in life, the mother usually runs them out of the group, and they are on their own. Sometimes the sub-adult males form bachelor groups and run together until they are big enough to start challenging older males in an attempt to take over a pride.

If the cubs are female, Mom cares for them until about two years of age and they usually stay with the pride they were born into. A mother and daughter may live together for life. Lions that do not live in prides are called nomads, and they range far and wide while following migrating herds of large game. Nomads are generally young males, roaming in pairs or small groups and often related to one another. Females are occasionally nomadic, too. For reason not clearly understood, young females are sometimes driven from their pride just as are young males. As they gain in age and experience, nomadic males may challenge established pride males for dominance of a given territory and its pride of lionesses, or they may join nomadic females and form a new pride. AT THE ZOO We began with a roar! Whenever people are asked to name animals that are in a zoo, lions are usually at the very top of the list. They have certainly been an important part of the San Diego Zoo’s history! There was no San Diego Zoo in 1915, when a handsome male lion named Rex and two females, Rena and Cleopatra, arrived in town as part of the Panama-California International Exposition.

It was soon after the Exposition ended that Harry Wegeforth, M.D., decided to create a zoo in San Diego after hearing Rex roar! Rex, Rena, and Cleopatra became some of the new Zoo’s earliest residents. In 1923, an open-air lion grotto opened along what is now the Zoo’s Center Street. Although there is no record of what happened to Rex and Rena, Cleopatra moved into the then state-of-the-art enclosure along with another female named Queen and a new male named Prince. The trio enjoyed the sun and fresh breezes blowing through the canyon. Lots of lion cubs were born in those early years—Cleopatra had 33 babies over an 8-year period! In our nearly 100-year-history, 119 lions have been born at the Zoo. The San Diego Zoo Safari Park has had lions on exhibit since it opened in 1972. In 2004, the Safari Park’s Lion Camp opened with six adorable six-month-old Transvaal lion cubs newly arrived from a facility in Africa.

Lion Camp looks like a bit of African habitat, so guests get to see lots of natural lion behaviors, watching the cats as they romp in the grass, explore the logs and rocks, or sit and watch the antelope, giraffes, and rhinos in the nearby African Plains field enclosure. Guests can come right up to the large glass panels for some eye-to-eye moments with the beasts. There is even a safari vehicle, a favorite resting spot for our pride. You may see a lion perched on its roof and observing life from the driver’s seat! Lion Camp is currently home to three of those original six cubs: male Izu and his two adoring female companions, Oshana and Mina. Many of their 18 surviving cubs from over the years are now residing in other zoos, but 6 are still here, including a litter of 4 born in July 2014. We are so proud of our pride!

Two of those original six Lion Camp residents, M’bari and Etosha, now hold court in the Zoo’s Elephant Odyssey, an area of the Zoo where we spotlight the animals that lived here in Southern California over 10,000 years ago with their modern-day counterparts. Here you’ll find a life-size statue of the American lion, which lived here 12,000 years ago. Our lions survey territory that includes a foothill environment with rocky slopes, trees, grasses, and a stream. Specially heated rocks make the perfect lounging spot for the king of beasts. At this “kingdom,” guests get close enough to count the cats’ whisker spots and bask in the lions’ golden gaze. M’bari awes visitors with his majestic bearing and late-afternoon bouts of roaring. The lions at both the Zoo and the Safari Park have learned behaviors that help our keepers take care of them. The lions know their names, so when keepers need to look at a particular lion, they can call that cat. This also comes in handy when it’s time fort the lions to go to their bedrooms at night.

Special clickers and meat treats let the cats know when they have done what was asked, like stand up against the glass so the keeper can see their paws and belly. If a lion has an injury, the keepers can spot it right away. Life for our lions is filled with new and unexpected experiences, just like it would be for them in the wild; however, it's up to their keepers to provide the big cats with those experiences by offering them a variety of things to sniff, taste, or play with. We call this enrichment. Keepers often place interesting scents in their exhibit, found in such items as wood shavings from our barns, herbs like cloves or cinnamon rubbed on a rock, or fox urine sprayed on a wall. Food enrichment can include large, blocks of ice, like a huge popsicle, filled with chunks of meat, called “meat-sicles,” or whole fish—a “fish-sicle”! Cardboard boxes, palm fronds, and feed sacks make great toys, too. And the lions love to play with large, heavy-duty plastic balls, rolling, tossing, and even pouncing on them, all in good fun. Thanks to their keepers and trainers, there is never a dull day.

A sculpture of Prince on the Zoo’s entrance plaza honors the iconic status of lions in San Diego Zoo history and makes for a memorable photo opportunity. To San Diegans, lions are symbolic of “their” zoo. Long may they reign! CONSERVATION Are lions in trouble? Due to many issues such as disease, hunting by humans, and loss of habitat, the population of lions in the wild is becoming very concerning to conservationists. Natural habitat for lions is now found only in protected reserves, and lion movement between prides is becoming more limited. While lion hunting is banned in many African countries, trophy hunting is still allowed in some places. In other areas, there are so many lions for so little space that rangers often put the females on birth control to reduce the number of cubs born. Ranchers sometimes poison lions that prey on livestock. It is estimated that there are between 6,000 and 10,000 African lions in Africa. The Asian lion used to be found from the Middle East across to India.

There are now only about 400 to 460 of this lion subspecies left, with more than half living in a reserve that used to be royal hunting grounds in an area of dry teak forest called the Gir Forest, now under national protection by the Indian government. The remainder of this particular subspecies lives in zoos. San Diego Zoo Global supports lion conservation. We provide funds to two organizations in Africa that work to help lions and other wildlife: the Northern Rangelands Trust and the Grevy’s Zebra Trust. The conservation of lions has to be reconciled with the needs of humans. Some conflict may be unavoidable in areas where agriculture or livestock farming compete with cat habitats, but it can be minimized, and local people must feel that efforts are being made to protect their interests. Education is a key component of conservation, providing information to all levels of the community about the role of cats in their habitat and ways to conserve them. Sounds

Question: What name is given to a young lion?
Answer: Cub