Due to a relatively small lung capacity they cannot run great distances. These animals are very fast over a short distance. These animals are primarily nocturnal, elusive, shy and solitary - except during the breeding season when the young are traveling with the female. (Torstar Books), 1984 21.Mountain Lions are the largest native North American cat except for the slightly larger jaguar. Overgrazing of land by livestock is destroying the habitat of the wild ungulates on which they depend for food.Ĭats, The Macmillan Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mammals. A typical pride may consist of as few as three individuals, up to as many as 30.There is some evidence that males with darker manes are often sexually selected or favored by females.The mane begins to develop in males as they approach maturity and tends to darken with age. Lions are the only big cat with a prominent mane found on males.They are also known for their very quick reﬂexes, which aids in hunting agile animals such as antelope.Lions will communicate over great distances with deep bellowing sounds that have been known to carry as much as ﬁve miles.African lions have excellent eyesight, good hearing and a keen sense of smell.Males that co-manage a pride will band together to defend their group.Some prides may be run by more than one male and breeding rights in these situations usually go to the male that ﬁrst discovers a ready female. Usually, a pride is headed by a single dominant male.They will then mature and seek out their own prides, usually by challenging an older male for his females. Young males are usually chased off by about age 4.Lions, like most cats are considered nocturnal.Most hunting takes place during this active time. It is not unusual for lions to sleep up to 21 hours in a day, becoming active generally at night or at dusk.Lions tend to gorge on a meal and then slip off to rest for prolonged periods while digesting.In some groups, the animal that makes the kill is allowed to eat ﬁrst, in others males eat ﬁrst, while others share among the pride without any real problems. Various feeding habits have been observed in different prides.Females usually do most of the hunting, while males are mainly concerned with the protection of the members within the pride. They may hunt singly, in pairs or as a group.Lions live in a family or social group known as a pride.(The zoo monitors all animals for excessive weight problems and adjusts diets as needed.) Captive animals do not expel as much energy hunting so they do not require as much as their wild relatives, otherwise, they will gain too much weight. When a kill is made, the animals will gorge themselves to make up for lost efforts. It is not usually on a daily basis that they acquire food since only about 20 – 30 % of their hunts are successful. In the wild, males need on average about 15 lbs of meat per day, while females need about 11 pounds. Wild: Large to medium-sized animals, such as giraffe, water buffalo, zebra, wildebeest (or gnu), wild hogs, and antelope. Cubs are following mother on hunts and other activities at about 3 months.Cubs are generally about 5 pounds at birth, eyes open at about 3 weeks of age.Females reach sexual maturity around age 3.Weight: Males: 330 – 550 pounds/ Females: 260 – 400 pounds Generally prefer grassy plains, savannas and semi-deserts. Several northern subspecies are now extinct. Largest surviving concentrations in southeastern Africa. Once ranging throughout Africa, they are now found mainly in sub-Saharan regions.

Are lions nocturnal