![]() In Kruger, the best chance of lion sightings is where the big game herds are.Īs a rule, lions hunt mostly at night and rest during the day but are often active at dawn and dusk and on cooler days. Lions favour open woodlands and thick scrub, the type of landscape that allows them to get as close to their prey as possible without being seen. Male lions come and go - often in spectacular battles over territory or individual dominance - but the pride cohesion remains unaffected, firmly under female control. Pride leadership often shifts between several individual animals - male and female - but the social structure of the pride hinges around the bond between related lionesses, who collaborate in all tasks, from raising cubs to hunting. Lions are the biggest, and most social, of the African cats, living communally in prides. The lion's average lifespan in the bush is probably around 15 years. They are awesome animals, with males weighing up to 225kg and females up to 150kg. Their power is reflected in their impressive size and the fact that their lifestyles allow them to sleep a lot - up to 18 hours a day. Lions have always had an association with royalty and leadership. They pant, just like a dog, or lay on their backs showing off the thinner skin and lighter fur on their bellies.A thousand years ago, they roamed as far afield as southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but they are now found mainly in Africa and are generally restricted to the bigger game reserves. Because lions can’t sweat as we do, the best way for them to cool down is by resting in the shade or on high rocks where they can catch a cool breeze. They are very sensitive to heat because they find it difficult to cool down. Lions, like pet cats, can be very lazy creatures, spending around 20 hours a day resting. ![]() It can cause health problems making their young smaller, weaker and less likely to live very long. This is called inbreeding and is a bad thing. In areas where there aren’t many lions, related family members sometimes have cubs together. Disease and inbreeding: Animals can catch diseases, just like people, but wild lions can’t get treatment to make them better.People sometimes end up killing lions to protect their homes and farm animals. Conflict with people: When lions and humans live closely together, it can cause serious problems for each other.Because lions have to share their food with humans, there is less to go round and they are forced to travel further and look harder to feed themselves and their families. Loss of prey: These are the animals that a lion chooses to hunt and eat.As people destroy their land or build their own homes there, lions struggle to find somewhere else suitable to live. Loss of habitat: A lion’s habitat is the area in which it lives.There are lots of different problems facing wild lions, including: ![]() This is called conservation the protection of animals in danger. That is why we must try to look after those lions that are left. If every lion died, we would say that they had become extinct. That might still sound like a lot, but it means that in another 40 years, there may not be any alive at all. Only 40 years ago, Africa was home to 200,000 lions, now there are only around 32,000. This means that in the wild, they are in real danger of being wiped out. Despite looking very fierce, lions are actually classed as being ‘vulnerable’.
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