Lions

ORDER:Carnivora
FAMILY:Felidae
GENUS:Panthera
SPECIES:Leo
Adult lions usually have a plain unspotted coat, light brown to dark ochre in color. Cubs are marked with spots which sometimes persist on the legs and belly until they are fully grown. Male lions have a brown mane, which tends to grow darker and fuller as the animal ages. The tail has a black tuft at the end. "White" lions occasionally occur in the Transvaal region of southern Africa, but these are not true albinos. Thousands of years ago, lions were common throughout southern Europe, southern Asia, eastern and central India and over the whole of the African continent. Today, with the exception of some 300 highly protected animals in the Gir National Park of India, the only naturally-occuring lions are found in Africa. (But even in Africa lions have been wiped out in the north; the last Numidian male was shot as a trophy in the 1930s.) Lions do not live in heavy forests and jungles and they do not inhabit desert areas due to a scarcity of game.

Lions are the only cats that live in large family groups. Each pride differs in size and formation, but a typical pride consists of two males and seven females and a variable number of cubs. Females are usually sisters and/or cousins that have grown up together. When the pride hunts as a group they employ an ambush that forces large prey into the waiting paws of the males. Females have the speed but lack the body weight to knock down large "family size" prey such as the wildebeast. Despite their tremendous power and adaptive efficiency, lions are more likely to fail than succeed in their attempts to kill. Subadult males are driven out at 2-1/2 to 3 years of age and may go in a group with other males. Females mature in about two years, males a few years later. All big cats are induced ovulators, i.e. release of the ovum is brought about by the act of mating, which explains the spitting, hitting, and roaring contest during courtship. The period of gestation for the lioness is between 105 and 118 days and usually three or four cubs will be born. Only one in five will survive the first year. When game is scarce the dominance hierarchy based on size and age quickly becomes apparent. The youngest die first. Life span in the wild is 12-15 years, in captivity 25 years.

Thanks to Simba's Pride of Big Cats for this Information