 |
| Picture from: National Geographic Meme text added by Cheri (me) |
African Lion
 |
| Courtesy: The PetPsychic |
Size: 4.5-6.5 ft / 1.4-2 m
Weight: 265-420 lb / 120-191 kg
Diet: Carnivorous (only meat)
Lifespan: 10-14 years (in the wild)
Appearance: Tawny or golden fur on body, Long mane (longer fur/hair) surrounding face and neck area
Status:
Vulnerable! We should be careful, don't want these beautiful creatures to go extinct! (And let's also try not to repeat the Cecil the Lion story)
Fun Fact: A group of lions is called a pride.
We all probably know what a lion is. You probably saw it at the zoo when you were two. You saw it again when you watched The Lion King at four. And then, time and time again, lions are brought up in school and books. Maybe you encountered lions again when you watched the Madagascar movies. But these books and movies only touch the surface of what, or who, lions really are, like the tip of the iceberg. There are lots more underneath. Do you know them? If not, you will today.
Beautiful Manes, Coast, and Whiskers
Lions have very beautiful manes and coats. Their fur is usually tawny or a nice golden brown. The males have thick manes that are also golden to a dark brown.
 |
| Courtesy: Nat Geo Wild |
Just like a human's fingerprints, the whisker spot of a lion will differ from one lion to another. Isn't that cool!?
The Pride
In the movie The Lion King, it seems that there are very few males and an abundance of females. That's very accuraate! In real life, there are usually only about three males in a pride. Females are plenty, however, as there could be up to a dozen or so females in that same pride. Then, of course, there are the pride's cubs.
The lion pride Outsiders/Outlanders (from The Lion King) is more representative of a "stray" pride, usually when a relatively large lion group splits because of some dispute. (I won't be going into much detail about stray prides in this post)
 |
| Cecil is the male (on the left) Courtesy: National Geographic |
And now, the heartbreaking part. If a new lion were to take over a lion pride, all the baby cub born at the time of the take-over would not survive. This, of course, would inevitably bring us to the story of Cecil the Lion**. Why was the world so upset when Cecil died? Part of it was because he was so beloved and famous, but another part of the reason is because when a new lion takes over his pride, all of Cecil's cubs will be killed. He had 6 cubs.
The Pride territory can be as large as 100 square miles (according to National Geographic) and it is the males' job to protect and defend it. There territory, similar to dogs, is marked by their urine.
How the Pride Works
Male lions are dominate the pride. When feeding time comes, it is the dominant males that eat first. Next come the females, and the cubs eat last, scrambling for any leftovers or scraps.
But who does the hunting? If you guessed the males, then you were wrong. In a lion pride, it is actually the females that do all of the hunting. Because lions are not the fastest animals, their strength is in their numbers and often work together to hunt as a group, preying on wildebeest, zebras, antelope, and other animals. Alas, usually only one out of every four hunts are successful.
 |
| Courtesy: EasyScienceForKids |
We should be grateful that we can have food brought to our plate three times a day! (Bonus: Most females are actually related in a lion pride, and they have zero tolerance for outside females. Thus, if a female leaves a pride, it will be a lot more difficult for her to find a new pride to join)
Symbolism in Our Modern World
Today, lions are viewed as a symbol of courage, strength, and bravery. They have been celebrated as heroic since the Middle Ages, when the use of heraldry began. (Heraldry: the system in which coat of arms is regulated to differentiate between knights on a battlefield.)
These majestic creatures once pranced about in not only Africa, but also Asia and Europe. Now, they are only existent in African's sub-Sahara region. There is one small group of Asiatic lion which thrives in India.
Conservation
Join National Geographic's Big Cats Initiative and/or San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy's Conservation in Action to help save lions and other big cats today!
If you don't feel like giving money, that's alright. You can do small things from your own home that can help wildlife conservation as well. For instance, recycle and try to reduce pollution and carbon footprint. Maybe reduce that 20 minute shower to a 10 or 5 minute shower. Or, spread the news, like me. The more people that are aware, the higher the chance of making a big impact.
Share this blog with your friends if you know anyone else who shares an interest in lions, big cats, or any wild animal that needs saving! www.weforwildlife.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm thinking next week maybe I'll blog about cheetahs or leopards! If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.
 |
| African Leopard Courtesy: Wikipedia |
 |
| Cheetah Courtesy: Euclid Library |
Sources:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/big-cats-initiative/
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/african-lion/
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/wild/fight-for-life/articles/lion-pride-takeover-facts/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
**Cecil the lion was killed by a dentist on a hunt a little more than a month ago. He was a beautiful lion protected by the government.
A small "Cecil the Lion Memorial"
You will be missed Cecil! ROAR!
I didn't know it's actually female hunting the food for the group, pride. It's unexpected. I would think I know lion very well as it's such a well known animal, but I indeed learned a lot from your blog. I enjoy reading it, and keep up the good work.
ReplyDeletethis is cool!
ReplyDelete