Lion (Panthera leo): a large cat of the family Felidae
Lions are at the top of the food chain, with no natural predators
Although lions are large and powerful cats, their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years
African lions have declined by more than 40% in the last three generations, mainly due to habitat loss and conflict with humans
Male lions are much larger than females
The length of the female is usually 46 to 57 feet, while the length of the male is 56 to 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 and deep chests
They have short, round heads, round ears and tufts of hair at the tips of their tails
Their appearance is different from other big cats like tigers, leopards and jaguars
Notably, male lions have a mane around their necks
The mane not only makes the lion look more impressive to females, but also more intimidating to other males
A lion’s mane can also protect a lion’s neck during a battle, usually with other males over territory and breeding rights
They hunt animals in their surrounding habitat, which usually include antelope and other ungulates
They also catch prey from leopards, cheetahs, hyenas or wild dogs
Lions usually hunt at night at dusk or dawn
Lionesses or lionesses often hunt
When chasing prey, a lion can cover the length of a football field in six seconds
Lion habitats include open woodlands, thick grasslands, and scrub habitats with sufficient cover for hunting and denning
Lions can be found all over the African grasslands
There is also a subspecies of Asiatic lions that used to be found from the Middle East to India
However, there are now only about 400-460 of this subspecies of lion left, more than half of them living in a protected area called Gir Forest
After a four-month gestation period, the lioness sneaks away from the pride to give birth to a litter of two to six cubs
The cubs are about 3 pounds at birth, with tawny fur and distinct spots or stripes
Cubs remain hidden from the pride for the first four to six weeks while they build up their strength
Cubs born in a pride are twice as likely to survive as a lion alone
Cubs stay close to their mother during the first months
Females stay with their mother longer than males
Males usually stay with their mother until they are two years old, while females may remain with their mother for life as a pride
The mother chases the juvenile male out of pride when he goes out on his own or joins a group of bachelors
A group of bachelors runs together until they are old enough to challenge the older men to take over the pride
Lions are the most social of the big cats and live in large groups called prides A pride consists of between 3 and 30 lions, depending on location
Areas with greater food availability are likely to have greater pride
Prides consist of lionesses, their cubs and a few independent males
Pride members have close social ties and are unlikely to welcome a stranger
Both males and females scent to define their territory
Pride participates in activities together, including hunting, raising and caring for cubs
Males and females have different roles in the pride
While the females cooperate in hunting and caring for their cubs, the males mark and guard the pride’s territory
Males guard the cubs while the lions hunt
When a new male tries to join a pride, he has to fight the existing males
Lions spend most of their time resting and sleeping
Leos have short bouts of intense activity followed by hours of lounging, which can last up to 21 hours in total
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 biggest threats to lions
As a result of human expansion, African lions now inhabit only 8% of the land they once occupied
This habitat loss has resulted in small and isolated prides that are more difficult to reproduce
As human activity expands into lion territory, lion-human conflict has increased
Lions eat livestock when their typical prey is no longer available, resulting in retaliation by farmers
Farmers may kill a lion to protect their livestock
Illegal wildlife trade is another major threat to lions
Lion bones are in growing demand as they may be used as a substitute for tiger bones in traditional Asian medicine
Three-quarters of Africa’s lion population is declining
Conservation groups work to protect lions
San Diego Zoo Global supports lion conservation by providing funds to two organizations in Africa that work to help lions and other wildlife: the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) and the Grevy’s Zebra Trust
NRT protects wildlife in a number of ways, including anti-poaching activities, habitat management, conservation awareness and endangered species recovery programs
They also monitor wildlife populations and mitigate human-wildlife conflicts
The NRT wildlife team has been collecting data on lions since 2013
Adopt a Lion: Adopt the pride of Eneiskiria lions with WWF and be part of the solution to help protect lions in 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 Lion Resources
In this article, you can learn about the range mass of male, female and young lions
You can also see how lions fight with other members of the cat group, especially tigers, and how much the total weight and height of the largest and longest lion on record has increased accordingly
How much do lions weigh in kilograms and pounds?
Before we get into the discussion, we must first acknowledge the two distinct subspecies into which lions are separated
First is the Panthera leo leo, a subspecies of North Central Africa, West Africa and India
And second is Panthera leo melanochaita of South and East Africa
The two lion subspecies are distinct and differ only (albeit slightly) in external size morphology, 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 average weight of an adult human
Lionesses weigh around 290 lb – 1311 kg (slightly more than males in their area) and newborn cubs typically weigh 1-2 kg; relatively lower 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 148-191 kg
The average weight of an adult female lion of this subspecies is between 110 and 150 kg in all geographical areas
Panthera leo melanochaita
The average adult male weight of this subspecies ranges from 1749 to 263 kg (386 lb to 580 lb), with the heaviest weight being 187 to 263 kg (412 lb to 580 lb) in southern species The average East African weight is 1749 kg to 255 kg (386 lb to 562 lb)
Adult females of this subspecies average 1242–1498 kg (274–330 lb) in southern Africa and 1195–1458 kg (263–321 lb) in eastern Africa
Lions, or African lions as they are sometimes called, are a family of big cats native to sub-Saharan Africa and northwestern India, and are mostly found in the savannah or grasslands of these regions, rather than dense forests
Lions are generally large, muscular cats with a short, rounded head, tawny fur, a deep chest, a tapered neck, and a tuft of dark fur at the tip of the tail
Adult male lions (aka lions) typically weigh 327 to 580 pounds (148 to 263 kg), have a body length of about 18 to 21 meters (6 to 9 feet), and are decidedly tall at 4 feet (12 meters) from the ground to the shoulder
To put this into perspective, adult male lions typically weigh three times (if not) the average adult human and are taller than the average American male (1734 cm) in length, except for their one meter the tail
Lionesses (otherwise called lionesses), on the other hand, typically weigh between 2645 and 3306 pounds; 120-150 kg (comparatively smaller than their male counterparts), reach around 16-18 meters and are solidly tall, 11 meters from the ground to the shoulder
Of all the species of the cat or big cat family, lions are rivaled only by tigers in body length, weight and shoulder height
Considered to be the largest tiger species, the Siberian tiger has a total length of up to 35 meters including the 1 meter tail and weighs up to 660 pounds (which is about 300 kg) )
(Siberian tigers are just under 4 feet tall at the shoulder )
Juvenile lions or cubs typically weigh between 1 and 2 kg, which is less than the widely accepted weight for infants
They are born with closed eyes, which usually open after 11 days, and are able to walk after 15 days, while they develop the ability to run around 1 month of age
Lions feed primarily on terrestrial mammals and can reach a dead weight of 190–550 kg (420–1,210 lb)
Often, lion hunters deal with larger prey that are killed, such as a medium-sized elephant or even a large elephant, as it would be almost impossible for individual individuals to bring them down
Lions in captivity are often much heavier than their wild counterparts
A male has been observed weighing up to 375 kg in a zoo in Ireland, while the female usually maintains her wild range weight
The heaviest lion ever
The heaviest lion ever recorded was a male captive-bred lion at Dublin Zoo, Ireland in 1959
The specimen weighed as much as 375 kg and had a total body length of over 10 feet (without tail)
The largest lion recorded in the wild was a male that was shot in the Transvaal in eastern South Africa in 1936
The individual was a man-eater and weighed a remarkable 313 kg (690 lb)
The largest subspecies of lions
As for the largest subspecies of lions, it is the now extinct Panthera leo leo subspecies known as Barbary lions
These populations populated northern Africa and were exterminated by bounty hunting
Hunters of the 19th century estimated that male barbary lions weighed between 270 and 300 kg
Retrieved from http://emborawildcom/how-much-do-lions-weigh/
The “king of beasts”, also known as the lion, is easily recognizable in part due to its unique mane and loud roar
Although weight varies by breed, the average male lion weighs 330 to 575 pounds (150 to 260 kg)
Female lions are brighter than their male counterparts
On average, a female lion weighs 265 to 375 pounds (120 to 177 kg)
At the higher end of the scale, some African lions can weigh up to 550 to 600 pounds (249 to 272 kg)
We have heard that the largest weight on record is over 800 pounds (362 kg)
Different types of lion scales:
How Much Do Baby Lions Weigh?
It’s truly amazing when you think about how big a lion is, yet the average baby weighs only 33 pounds (15 kg) at birth
By the time they reach their first birthday, the cub weighs 50 pounds (22 kg)
The average lifespan of lions is 10-14 years
Lions are not only heavy cats, but also very fast
An adult male lion can sprint up to 80 km/h over a short distance
Where do lions live?
Currently, you can find lions living south of the Sahara desert in Africa, as well as in the Gir forest of India
A common misconception is that lions live in the jungle
However, lions do not live in the jungle
However, lions do not live in the jungle
They prefer open areas such as the savanna where they can easily hunt
How fast can a lion run?
Female lions have been known to run as fast as 80 km per hour, but only very short distances when hunting prey
~ Fun Fact ~The lioness is the one who does most of the hunting
Males join the hunt when the hunted animal is too big for the female to take down
Despite this, male lions are always the first to eat a freshly caught meal