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Name || Lion

Scientific Name || Panthera leo

Conservation status || Vulnerable

Habitat || African grasslands south of the Sahara Desert in Africa

Unique Features || Lions are one of the few social big cats. Males have a long mane surrounding their faces. Social Behaviour || Lions live in prides of up to 30 dominated by one or more males. Male lions are very lazy and leave most of the hunting to the females, but will fight strange males that come into their territory. The winner of such a fight takes over the whole pride, and the loser must leave to find another pride or to fend for themselves. Diet || Lions usually hunt only in the evening, for large grazing animals like wildebeest, zebra or antelope. Reproduction || A lioness will give birth to two to five cubs after a gestation of between 100 and 119 days. The cubs are born blind and helpless, and are completely dependent on their mother. From her they start learning to hunt at about six weeks old, but they cannot tear meat properly until they are a year old. In their second year they start to hunt for themselves. Some females may be allowed to stay, but the dominant lion drives out all the male cubs. Life Cycle || Due to their harsh lifestyle, lions rarely live beyond 15 in the wild but have been known to reach up to 30 in captivity. Relatives || Lions are related to the other big cats - lions, tigers, jaguars and leopards are all members of the same genus. Interesting Facts : Typically a mature male stands 1.2m at the shoulder and is up to 2.5m long, plus tail. He'll average just over 200 kg. Females are considerable smaller, weighing less than 120 kg. Thousands of years ago, lions were common throughout southern Europe, southern Asia, eastern and central India and over the whole of the African continent. Today, with the exception of some 300 highly protected animals in the Gir National Park of India, the only naturally-occurring lions are found in Africa. A lion' loud roar is made possible by the cartilage in his throat having ossified into bone (referred to as the Hyoid structure). This is true of all the big cat or "roaring" species. A lions roar can be heard for up to 5km. The smaller cats with the softer throat structure can only meow. Lion cubs are born covered with a spotted coat that fades after a few months. Breeding Programme || Our Lions are part of an international breeding programme. Environmental Conditions || The best hope for the lions survival is in national parks and game reserves. At Wellington Zoo || Currently we have two male lion and three young lionesses at Wellington Zoo.

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