Lion

King of the savanna

The lion is the only cat that lives in families. Its family is called a pride. The male has a big mane on his head. A lion's roar can be heard 8 km away! Lions sleep 20 hours a day — very lazy kings.

The lion (Panthera leo) is a big cat of the African savanna (with a small population in India's Gir Forest). Its social structure is unique: a pride has 3–30 lions, females hunt together and males guard the territory. The darker and thicker the mane, the healthier the male is considered. A century ago there were 200,000 lions; today fewer than 20,000 remain, as habitat shrinks and conflicts with people grow. A lion eats up to 7 kg of meat a day, but only one hunt in 4–5 succeeds.

Fun facts

• A lion's roar is 114 decibels — as loud as a rock concert!
• Lion cubs are born with spots, which fade as they grow.
• In a pride, the lionesses do most of the hunting — but the males eat first.
• A lion can jump 11 metres — clearing a bus in a single leap.