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To know a lion is to love a lion – so here are some general statistics and facts about lions to expand your knowledge and thus your love of lions.
Basic Lion Stats
Scientific name: Panthera leo (Was Felis leo until recently.)
Family: Felidae, Order: Carnivora, Class: Mammalia.
Male:
Avg. Length: 9 ft. (2.7 meters), Weight: 350-400 lbs. (157-180 Kg.)
Height: 36 in. (90cm.)
Female:
Avg. Length: 8 ft. (2.4 meters), weight: 250-300 lbs. (112.5-136 Kg.).
Height: 30 in. (75 cm) (Lengths include the tail. Height measured at the shoulder.)
No. of teeth: 30
Lifespan: 12 years in the wild, 20 years in captivity. Females typically live a few more years in the wild.
Maximum speed: 30 mph over 50 yds. ( 48 kph. over 46 m.)
Biggest Jump: 12 ft. (3.7 m.) vertical, 36 ft. (10.8 m.) horizontal.
Gestation period: 105-115 days. (about 3 1/2 - 4 months)
Body Temperature: 101 deg. F (38.33 deg C)
Quick Lion Facts
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A group of Lions is called a "Pride."
- The hunting ground for a pride of lions can range from 8 to 150 square miles.
- Lions will rarely eat their entire kill. The remainders go to hyenas and vultures.
- A male lion will eat first, even though it's the female lions who make the kill.
- After it eats, a thirsty lion may take a drink lasting up to 30 minutes.
- Lions are the most social of all cats. Prides may contain up to 40 members, with over half being young adults and cubs.
- It may take a pride up to 4 hours to finish eating their meal.
- While lions in captivity will eat about 15 pounds of raw meat daily, a wild lion will only eat about twice a week.
- Lions have hair rather than fur. Hair is defined as a single-layered, thin coat and fur is a double-layered, insulated coat.
- Although lions seem to be all one color, closer inspection reveals patches of white inside their legs and on their bellies.
- Because most of a lion’s weight is made up of muscle, they are amazing athletes. With one slap of a paw they can knock a full-grown zebra off its feet.
- Like any good athlete, they need their sleep and a lot of it! Twenty hours out of each day is spent snoozing.
- When an animal is killed, lions will eat virtually every part of it–the skin, meat, intestines, even the eyeballs.
- But they don’t eat the stomach. It must smell bad to lions because they often bury it.
- The four members of the cat family who can roar are lions, leopards, tigers, and jaguars. But lions are by far the loudest.When the mood is peaceful, lions may make puffing noises instead. "Meows" and other sounds are used as well. But a mighty roar can be heard as far away as 5 or 6 miles. A lion is incapable of roaring until he/she is about 2 years old.
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