The lion has always acted as the personification of strength and living power, power, and royal posture. But we don't know everything about lions.

 

In addition to the fact that the lion, like all animals, perceives smells through the nose, it can catch and recognize them with the help of the so-called "Jacobson's tube" - located in the oral cavity, in the upper palate, right behind the front incisors. The cats are involved when they concentrate their attention on some exciting smell for themselves, drawing in air through their mouths, slightly raising their upper lip and nose - a smile of a predator.

 

 

The muzzle of a lion, like every human fingerprint, is unique. In nature, there are no two identical lions with very muzzles. At the same time, the claws of a lion grow up to 7 cm, and the teeth of an adult - 30.

 

If the animal is complete, then the living creatures that he hunts, which serve as his prey, can quite easily walk next to him - at this moment, they have nothing to fear for their lives since such animals will not attack just like that, for the sake of entertainment.

 

Many mistakenly believe that people are attacked only by an old or wounded animal that cannot entirely hunt antelopes or gazelles. But as statistics show, more young individuals in excellent physical shape become cannibals.

 

Do you know these interesting facts about lions?

 

 

1. the giant wild cats on the planet are tigers. Lions are the second largest. Adult females can weigh about 130 kg, males - about 180 kilograms.

 

2. Lions are often referred to as "kings of the jungle." But in fact, they do not live in the jungle. Their primary habitats are African grasslands and plains. 

 

3. Leos love to travel. But you will never meet them in the rainforests - this is the element of tigers and jaguars. 

 

4. Almost all wild lions live in Africa. Still, one small population exists around the Gir Forest National Park in Western India. 

 

5. There may be more subspecies of lions in the wild than you might think. People generally can only name Asiatic and African lions. However, there are about eight of their subspecies, in particular, the northern Congolese and Masai. 

 

 

6. Of all the large feline species, lions are the most social. They live in large groups called "pride." A pride usually consists of related females and their cubs and a male or a group of males. The size of pride can vary from 15 to 40 individuals. The more members in the pride, the stronger it is.

 

7. Lionesses raise cubs together. The female can feed both her own and other cubs with milk. 

 

8. The mane is the visiting card of the male lion. None of the representatives of the cat family has anything like this.

 

Why does the male need such a luxurious “hairstyle”? The mane is a kind of indicator of the strength and activity of the animal. The darker the fur, the more attractive the male is to the female. In addition, the mane protects the neck and head of the beast during fights.

 

9. Lions are excellent hunters. They run fast, reaching speeds of up to 80 km / h and jumping. This helps them catch fast-footed prey. They have a wonderful sense of smell, sensitive hearing, and good eyesight. The claws of the beast reach a length of 7 cm.

 

10. The kings of beasts are lazy. Most of the day, they sleep or relax. They can be up to 20 hours a day! 

 

 

11. Lions can hunt down and kill an animal weighing more than 500 kg. The most desirable prey for them is buffaloes. It's just hard to deal with them. Often in a fight, the winners are not the jungle kings. 

 

12. Without water, they can do up to four days, but they need to eat every day. A lion can eat up to 40 kg of meat in one sitting, about a quarter of its weight. Its tongue is covered with sharp papillae, which help the predator scrape the flesh from the bones. 

 

13. Lions hunt mainly at night. They see well in the dark, which gives them a massive advantage over prey. 

 

14. Females hunt much more often than males. At the same time, some lionesses play the role of the "center," others play the role of "wings" - the wings drive the prey to the center. 

 

15. males must protect their pride and territory. Even though males rarely help females in hunting, they eat first. 

 

 

16. Cubs are usually born with blue eyes. After about three months, the eyes change color to yellow-brown or amber. 

 

17. Lions rub their heads against each other, thus creating a familiar collective smell. This smell allows the animals of particular pride to know who is a member of their family and who is not if a skirmish arises between the satisfaction.

 

18. At the age of 3-4 years, males and females are ready to mate. The gestation period is about four months. There are from 1 to 6 cubs in the litter (usually 2-3). Childbirth takes place away from the family, after which the female hides the cubs for another six weeks. At birth, lion cubs weigh only about 1.5 kg. 

 

19. Females in the same pride tend to give birth around the same time, making it possible to raise several litter together.

 

20. Pride often roar "in chorus," declaring their territory, and even young lion cubs join the general cry. The roar of a lion can be heard at a distance of 8 km! 

 

21. Lions don't just roar. They make various sounds, including those that are common to domestic cats. They hiss when they are angry and even meow when they want to attract the attention of their relatives. 

 

 

22. Lions can successfully interbreed with other types of big cats. For example, a liger is known - as a hybrid of a lion and a tigress.

 

23. The white lion is a rare morph with a genetic disease (leucism) caused by a double recessive allele. In total, there are about 300 such individuals on the planet. These are not albinos. They have normal pigmentation of the eyes and skin.

 

24. Lions live for about 10-14 years in the wild. Their age is much longer in captivity, up to 20-25 years. 

 

25. Only 20,000 lions are believed to be left in their natural habitat, which is half of 30 years ago. If, for example, we compare the number of lions with the number of elephants, of which there are 415 thousand, it becomes clear that there are very few royal predators left. By now, they have disappeared from 90% of their historical range. Some scientists say that if current trends continue and people do not take proper conservation measures, wild lions could completely disappear from the face of the earth by 2050.

 

What are the misconceptions about lions?

 

There is no "Lion King."

Despite what the classic Disney movie would have you believe, the pride doesn't have Mufasa or Simba in charge of all other lions (or all other African animals, for that matter). Instead of a king or queen, lions live in an egalitarian society without ranking.

 

King of the Treeless Jungle

Lions gloriously acquired the title "King of the Jungle." However, the name is misleading as lions don't live in the jungle. Their habits include bushland, grasslands, savannas, and rocky hills. This is a simple case lost in translation.

 

The word jungle has its roots - it is the Hindi word "ring," which means forest or wasteland - the latter can easily be applied to the savannah. Another title of the lion - "King of Beasts" - will not be disputed here. Please discuss the matter with your nearest lion if you wish to deny it.

 

Albi-NO

White lions have been considered sacred throughout Africa, and there is a common misconception that they have albinism. While albino lions exist, white lions are a distinct subset of lions. White lions have a regressive mutation called leucism, which reduces melanin. This pigment controls the color of a lion's coat and eyes. Eye color is a way to tell white lions from albino lions. White lions have blue eyes, while albino lions are red or pink.

 

Mane means successful male.

The lion's mane is commonly seen to calculate a lion's sex appeal to potential mates—the more magnificent the fur, the more attractive the male. However, recent evidence refutes this as a universal rule. Deserted male lions in Tsavo can attract females and successfully defend a territory against other males.

 

Manes doesn't always mean men. Maned lionesses have been seen, especially in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. These lionesses engage in activities usually associated with male lions and are more likely to be sterile.