Characteristics of the lion animal
The lion, or what is known as the king of the jungle, is a large cat with a strong build, a long body and a large head covered by long hair (coat), whose color varies from yellow-orange, orange-brown, or silver-gray to dark brown. It is very popular among adults and children from ancient times to the present day. It lives on the African continent, especially in the lands of Central Africa.[1]
Lions enjoy relaxation, and they spend between 16 and 20 hours every day resting and sleeping. They have few sweat glands, so they wisely tend to conserve their energy by resting during the day and become more active at night when the weather is cooler. [1] Lions are distinguished For the rest of the cats, they live in groups consisting of lionesses and cubs, and their number ranges from 4 to 37 members, but the number 15 is the average of these groups, and these groups help each other to defend their area against other groups or any kind of interference.[2]
And the area that is subject to one group may reach 400 square kilometers, which is inherited for decades by some of these groups, and lions are announced to their areas through scent and roaring signs and leave a trace of them on trees or the ground through urination or excrement.[2]
Some facts about lions around the world
Among the most important facts about lions in the world: [3]
Almost all luster lions live in Africa, below the Sahara Desert with a few in the West Indian National Park which are associated with the lions in West and Central Africa. The average weight of males is 190 kg, while the females weigh 126 kg. These weights are very useful in the hunting and self-defense process. Females take care of the cubs, so the cub can suckle from any female in the same group. Lions can get water even from plants and this enables them to live in very dry areas such as deserts and they also get water from their prey. The lion has a tongue that contains sharp beams in order to scrape the meat off the bone, as it can eat 40 kilograms of meat in one meal, which is slightly less than a quarter of its weight. Lions do most of the hunting during the night, in order to adapt their eyes to the darkness, which gave them a great advantage over their prey, and they also hunt during storms because the noise of wind and rain makes it difficult for the prey to notice its presence in the area. While hunting, the lions do something like a plan, so they do not know their place to trap the prey during the hunt. Lions roar collectively, even with their young, which distinguishes them from the rest of the cat species. The numbers of lions are decreasing continuously. Luxurious statistics say that there are no more than 23 thousand lions in the wild, which is a much smaller number when compared to the numbers of elephants, which are about 415,000 African elephants. In fact, 90 percent of the lions have disappeared from their historical range.
Threats facing lions
Among the most important threats facing lions: [3]
Revenge killing. Protect people and livestock. Lack of prey and habitats, due to human expansion and drought. Lions were killed to use their bones in traditional Asian medicine.