The lion (Panthera leo): big cat of the Felidae family Lions are at the top of the food chain with no natural predators Although lions are big and powerful cats, their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years African lion numbers have declined by more than 40% in the past three generations, largely as a result of habitat loss and human conflict Male lions are much larger than female lions The length of a female is usually between 46 and 57 feet, while the length of a male is between 56 and 83 feet Female lions weigh between 270 and 400 pounds, while males weigh between 330 and 570 pounds Leos are known for their muscular bodies with deep chests They have short, rounded heads, round ears and tufts of hair at the end of their tails Their appearance differs from that of other big cats such as tigers, leopards and jaguars In particular, male lions have a mane of hair around the neck The mane not only helps the lion look more impressive to females, but also more intimidating to other males The lion’s mane can also protect the lion’s neck during a battle, usually with other males over territory and breeding rights They hunt animals in the surrounding habitat, which usually includes antelope and other ungulates Lions usually hunt at night at dusk or dawn Female lions, or lionesses, often hunt When chasing prey, a lion can run the length of a football field in six seconds Lion habitats include open forests, dense grasslands and scrub habitats where there is sufficient cover for hunting and shelter Lions can be found all over the African grasslands There are also subspecies of Asiatic lions, which were found from the Middle East to India However, there are now only about 400 to 460 of this subspecies of lion left, with more than half living in a reserve called the Gir Forest After a four-month gestation period, a lioness will sneak away from the pride to give birth to a litter of two to six cubs Chicks weigh about 3 kg at birth, with a yellowish-brown coat and distinct spots or stripes The cubs remain hidden by the pride for the first four to six weeks while they gain strength Cubs born in a pride are twice as likely to survive as a single lioness The cubs stay close to their mother in the first months Females tend to stay with their mothers longer than males Males will usually stay with their mother until they are two years old, while females may stay with their mother in the pride for life The subadult male will be chased out of pride by his mother when he goes out on his own or joins a bachelor group A group of bachelors will run together until they are old enough to start challenging older males in an attempt to take over a pride Lions are the most sociable of the big cats and live in large groups called ‘pride’ The pride consists of 3 to 30 lei, depending on the location Areas with greater food availability will likely have larger prides Prides consist of lionesses, their cubs and a few unrelated males Members of the pride have close social ties and are unlikely to accept an outsider Both males and females scent mark to define their territory The pride participates in activities together, including hunting, raising young, and grooming Males and females have different roles in the pride While the females work together to hunt and care for the young, the males mark and guard the pride’s territory The males will guard the cubs while the lionesses are hunting When a new male tries to join a pride, he must fight the existing males Lions spend most of their time resting and sleeping Leos have short bursts of intense activity, followed by hours of relaxation, which can total up to 21 hours Lions live about 15 years in the wild and up to 30 years in zoos Habitat loss, conflicts with humans and illegal wildlife trade are the greatest threats to lions As a result of human expansion, African lions now live on only 8% of the land they once occupied This loss of habitat has resulted in small and isolated eagles, which have a more difficult time breeding As human activity expands into lion territory, conflict between lion and man has increased Lions will eat human livestock when their typical prey is no longer available, leading to farmers retaliating Farmers may kill a lion to protect their livestock Illegal wildlife trade is another major threat to lions Lion bones are increasingly in demand as they can be used to replace tiger bones in traditional Asian medicine Three quarters of African lion populations are in decline With only about 20,000 in the wild, lions are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List Conservation groups work to protect lions San Diego Zoo Global supports lion conservation by providing funds to two organizations in Africa working to help lions and other wildlife: the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) and Grevy’s Zebra Trust NRT works to protect wildlife in a number of ways, including anti-poaching operations, habitat management, raising conservation awareness and endangered species recovery programs They also monitor wildlife populations and mitigate human-wildlife conflict The NRT wildlife team has been collecting data on lions since 2013 Adopt a lion: Adopt the pride of Eneiskiria lions with the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and become part of the solution to help protect the lions of the Mara Support conservation groups like WWF and San Diego Zoo Global in their efforts to protect lions Source: San Diego Zoo, WWF and NATURE’s lion resources In this article, you will learn about the meal of male, female and young lions You’ll also see how lions stack up against other members of the felid group, especially tigers, and how much the largest and longest lion on record has accumulated in total weight and total length, respectively
How much do lions weigh in kg and pounds?
Before moving on, we must first recognize the two distinct subspecies into which lions are separated First is the subspecies Panthera leo leo from North Central Africa, West Africa and India And the second is Panthera leo melanochaita from South and East Africa These two lion subspecies are distinct and differ only (albeit marginally) in external size morphology, and not in tufts, mane length and color, and skin pigment color Average weight of lions
The average weight of an adult male lion is 420 pounds (1905 kg), which is analogous to more than three times the weight of an average adult human being Female lions weigh about 290 pounds – 1311 kg (slightly more than male counterparts in their regions) and newborn cubs usually weigh between 1 kg and 2 kg; comparatively less than the standard body weight of an average human child Average weight of each subspecies
Panthera leo leo
The average weight of an adult male lion of this subspecies is between 148 kg and 191 kg The average weight of an adult female lion of this subspecies is between 110 kg and 150 kg in all geographical regions Panthera leo melanochaita
The average weight of adult males of this subspecies is between 1749 and 263 kg (386 lb to 580 lb), with species from the southern region having the largest mass of 187 kg to 263 kg (412 lb to 580 lb), while that of East Africa has an average mass of 1749 kg to 255 kg (386 lb to 562 lb) The average weight of adult females of this subspecies is between 1242 kg and 1498 kg (274 lb to 330 lb) for South African ones and 1195 to 1458 kg (263 lb to 321 lb) for from the east side Lions, or African lions as they are sometimes called, are members of the “big cat” family native to sub-Saharan Africa and northwestern India, and are found mostly in the savannah or grassland vegetation of these regions, not in dense forests Lions are generally large, muscular cats with short, rounded heads, brown fur, deep chests, short necks, and a tuft of dark hair at the end of their tails Adult male lions (otherwise called lions) typically weigh between 327 and 580 pounds (148 kg to 263 kg), body length of about 18 to 21 meters, and stand firmly at 12 meters from ground to shoulder To put this into perspective, adult male lions typically weigh as much as (if not) three times the weight of an average adult human and, in length, are taller than the average American male (at 1734 cm), excluding one metre pigtail Female lions (otherwise called lionesses), on the other hand, typically weigh between 2645 and 3306 pounds; 120 to 150 kg (relatively smaller than their male counterparts), they stretch about 16 to 18 meters in body length and stand firm at 11 meters from the ground to the shoulder Of all the species in the family of felids or big cats, lions are rivaled only by tigers when it comes to body length, weight and shoulder height The Siberian tiger, which is considered to be the largest tiger species, has been recorded to measure more than 10 feet (35 meters) in total body length, including a 1 meter tail) and weigh up to 660 pounds pounds (which is about 300 kg) ) (Siberian tigers are just under 4 feet in height at the shoulder) Lion cubs or cubs typically weigh between 1 kg and 2 kg, which is less than the widely recognized mass of human infants They are born with their eyes closed, which usually open at 11 days, and are able to walk after a period of 15 days, while they develop the ability to run after about 1 month Lions feed mainly on terrestrial mammals, and their kill can range from 190 to 550 kg (420–1,210 lb) Often larger prey that are killed, for example a medium-sized or even a large elephant, are tackled by prides of lions, as single individuals would find it almost impossible to bring them down Lions in captivity
Lions in captivity are often much heavier than their wild counterparts An individual male weighing up to 375 kg has been observed in a zoo in Ireland, while females usually maintain their wild mass The heaviest lion ever recorded
The heaviest lion ever recorded was a male lion bred in captivity in Dublin Zoo, Ireland, 1959 The individual weighed up to 375 kg and had a total body length of over 10 feet (excluding the tail) The largest lion ever recorded in the wild was a male specimen shot in 1936 in the eastern Transvaal of South Africa The individual was a man-eater and weighed 313 kg (690 pounds) The largest subspecies of lion
As for the subspecies of lions that are the largest, it is the now extinct population of the subspecies Panthera leo leo, known as Barbary lions These populations lived in the northern part of Africa and were eradicated to extinction by bounty hunting Hunters in the 19th century estimated that Barbary lions weighed between 270 kg and 300 kg for males