Lion Facts: 30 Things You Didn’t Know

Lion Facts: 15 Things You Didn’t Know (Part 1)

By Megan Wrappe -

Feb 18, 2016

etsy.com

There is nothing more majestic than a lion. However, despite lions’ ongoing spot in the limelight (especially on nature shows), there are still a few things that most people don’t know. Everyone knows this beautiful as the king of the jungle, but here are a few facts that you might not otherwise know about lions.

Number Fifteen: The Lion Can Vary In Color

If you are looking for a yellow lion like Simba, you won’t find that in the jungle. Lion’s coats vary from light yellow-brown coats to thick black manes for the male lions as they get older.

Number Fourteen: They Eat A Variety Of Things

While a bit gory, a lion’s diet can consist of things like wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, buffalo and wild hogs. They will also eat smaller animals like hares, birds and reptiles.

Number Thirteen: They’ve Moved

The largest lion populations used to mainly be in Africa, but now they can be found in the South Sahara desert and in parts of Southern and Eastern Africa. Lions were also found in Greece to Northern India at one time.

Number Twelve: Lions Are Extremely Social

Out of the entire cat family, lions are the most social. They live in groups called prides which can be made up of about 15 lions with female lions and their cubs making up the majority of the population.

Number Eleven: Cubs Stick Close By

Instead of leaving their cubs at a young age, a female lion will care for her offspring for two to three years after they are born. They begin hunting at around 11 months but can still be prone to bigger prey like hyenas or leopards.

Number Ten: They Have Population Power

Though the lion population has decreased quite a bit since the 1950s, its numbers are still large. Lions are the second largest living feline, second only to tigers.

Number Nine: Females Do A Lot of Work

If you want to see a hard worker, look no further than the female lion. She does most of the hunting and then raises the cubs.

Lion Facts: 15 Things You Didn’t Know (Part 2)

By Megan Wrappe -

Feb 19, 2016

Kitti Goretic
Visit / pinterest.co

There is never too much to learn about the beautiful creature, the lion. So, here is part two of our series on this big cat.

Number Eight: The Male Lions Are the Protectors

The females may do the hunting but the males do the protecting. Their main job is to defend the pride’s territory. They do this by using their almighty roar which can carry for a few miles.

Number Seven: They Live Longer In Captivity

With all of the work it takes to survive in the wild, it comes as no surprise that the lion fairs better in captivity. In the wild, a lion can live as long as 12-16 years while in captivity they can survive up to 25 years.

Number Six: They Are Nocturnal

While the men are protecting their pride territory, the women go to work doing the hunting. This usually takes place from dusk until dawn.

Number Five: They Can Run As Fast As A Car

The scenes you see of lions running in movies show their power but not their speed. They can reach up to 81 miles per hour but only in short bursts because of a lack of stamina.

Number Four: They Can Breed With Other Big Cats

Napoleon Dynamite’s favorite animal, the liger, may have sound ridiculous when he talked about it but they do actually exist. The hybrids between lions and other big cats can be called ligers (lions and tigers) and leopons (lions and leopards).

Number Three: They Know How To Nap

Since lions are nocturnal, they take a well-deserved rest when the sun is up. They can sleep for almost 20 hours during the day.

Number Two: A Lion Mane Is More Than Just Looks

Since no other big cats have manes, they are very distinctive of lions. They make the males look larger and more intimidating but they also protect them during fights.

Number One: They Have Religious Meaning

Just looking at a lion, you cannot look past his menacing features. This is why the ancient Egyptians honored the lion as one of their war deities. Thanks so much for reading our facts on lions!

 Sources: Parts One & Two