Introduction to Lions
Lions! Aren’t we all fascinated by the majestic beast, also known as “The King Of The Jungle”?
Their majestic built, regal mane, and graceful poise are why they are hugely glorified as royal beasts. African Lion, also known as Panthera leo leo is the second-largest animal in the feline family, coming right after tigers (Panthera tigris).
Other than that, there is another species of lion, also known as the Asiatic Lion, commonly known amongst the scientist community as Panthera leo persica.
Lions are feral creatures who originate from the Saharan desert of Africa but are also prevalent in the plains, woodlands, and also in tropical forests of western India.
The diversity in their habitat, accompanied by their massive size and composed nature is what makes them a thoroughly fascinating creature!
How Much Does a Lion Weigh?
An average fully grown male lion, in perfectly healthy condition will weigh about 400 to 420 pounds. Putting it in terms of kilograms, an average healthy male lion weighs between 180 kilograms to 200 kilograms.
The male members of the species usually weigh a lot more than the female members. Female lions can weigh up to 280 pounds, which is about 120 pounds less than their male counterpart. Putting in terms of kilograms, an average fully-grown, healthy female lion weighs about 54 kilograms less than a male of around the same age! We are guessing that a lot of this added weight is due to the excessive volume of its wild and glorious mane!
The highest weighing adult lion was recorded to be around 600 pounds which is over 200 pounds higher than the weight of an average lion!
Find out a lions top speed here.
How Tall Can A Lion Get?
Lions are glorious creatures! Usually, a male lion and a female lion don’t differ much when it comes to the height aspect of their physique. Both male and female lions are around 4 feet tall, measuring from their shoulder level to the ground! Lions are taller than most four-legged terrestrial mammals.
What Is The Average Length Of A Lion?
Lions are not just known for their incredible stature and magnificent aura, they are also known for their length. This particular feline species is known to be pretty big when you’re talking about the length aspect of the creature!
Even when it comes to this physical feature, male lions are a little ahead as compared to female lions. An average fully-grown male lion can be over 6 feet, excluding the tail. However, an average female lion of the same age range will be below 6 feet in length!
Who Is Heavier? A Lion Or A Tiger?
According to research conducted by National Geographic for several years, it has been noticed that a tiger is usually heavier than a lion. While a lion weighs around 400 pounds, a tiger of the same age or so can weigh around 550 pounds!
Not just in terms of weight, even when it comes to bodily strength, a tiger has a much higher muscle build and strength as compared to a lion of the same age. A Bengal or Siberian tiger can be much heavier as compared to an African lion of the same age.
What Does A Lion Usually Eat?
Lions are natural predators. They cannot consume any food unless it has been hunted down by them. As predators, they do not prefer being picky over their prey! Coming to what kind of animals do they prefer as prey?
Lions like hunting small to medium-sized mammals in order to curb their hunger. They prefer preying on animals like deer, foxes, wild pigs, wild hogs, antelopes, and other small-sized mammals such as ostriches as well as other reptiles.
Like we mentioned before, male lions consider themselves to be quite sophisticated. They do not prefer doing mundane jobs like hunting! Usually, their highly voluminous mane also prevents them from doing any work that requires swift and agile movements.
This is why a grown male lion usually depends on the females to hunt the prey down. Owing to their light body weight, they can easily attack their prey and hunt them down within a very short period of time! Also, female lions are much more ferocious as compared to their male counterparts!
Although lions are strong and feral wild beasts, they can be prey to other species, for instance, humans and hyenas.
What Does A Lion Eat In Captivity?
Although lions are wild creatures who are meant to be free, sometimes humans raise lions in captivity in various zoos or sanctuaries.
In captivity, a lion is much more tame and their diet is a lot more restricted and supervised by professionals. They are only provided with food that will help in good muscle formation, thus contributing to a great physique!
The question is : What kind of food is given to lions when they’re kept in captivity?
To be very specific, lions kept in captivity are provided with a variety of components as a part of their diet.
- Meat and Bones
As lions are carnivorous animals, meat and bones are a crucial part of their diet. Although they cannot hunt down their prey by themselves, they are provided with the meat of small animals like rabbit, sheep, goat, rooster etc. Sometimes, they’re also provided with pork, beef etc.
Lions are feline creatures and bones are literally their treat! They prefer bones of all varieties but usually longer bones like the femur are their favourite! When in captivity, they’re provided with bones of big animals like cows or buffaloes several times a week! Bones contain high calcium content that help in muscle development in lions!
- Commercial Food
When in captivity, their diet and nutrient content are constantly monitored by the supervisors. This is why, they are fed with specially formulated food items that contributes to the overall growth and development of the animal.
Two prime components that must be included in a lion’s diet is calcium for strong bone development and amino acids. Commercial foods are formulated keeping these key dietary requirements in mind.
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