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Wildlife: Mammals -
Lion 1/4
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Wildlife
Panthera Leo, Lion, Leeu, Löwe.
 Description
The lion is a massive cat. Biggest of all the carnivores in Africa today.
Coloured pale tawny to sandy brown, with with underpants. Rare specimens of
white lion have been to be spotted inside the Kruger National Park. Cubs are
faintly spotted, reminding of the kinship with the other large cats. Sometimes
the adult animals retain traces of the spots, especially low on the body. The
long tail is short-haired, with a distinctive black tuft at the tip. The adult
males have manes varying in colour from tawny to black, and in size from a
slight ruff around the neck, shoulders and chest and extending as a fringe below
the belly. The head is large in comparison to the body with a strong, heavy
muzzle, the pattern of spots at the roots of the whisker is unique to each
individual. Head and body length from 2.6 metres to 3.3 metres. Tail 30 to 100
centimetres. Shoulder height with males reaches up to 1.2 metres, at females up
to 0.9 metres. Weight of males usually up to 190 kilograms, heaviest specimen
measured weighing 260 kilograms, 225 kilograms highest ever measured in Kruger
National Park. Weight of females usually up to 135 kilograms. Heaviest female
measured so far 152 kilograms.
Habitat
In general lions are found in a wide range of habitats, once
spreading all over Africa and parts of Europe and Asia, except
for rain forests and true desert. The lion is able to venture
into arid areas along drainage lines and can go without water
for a long time. Unable to live in co-existence with human
activity and stock farming. Lions are active throughout Kruger
National Park although they prefer the greater plains in the
south. In the 1993 census approximately fifteen hundred
individuals were counted.
Diet
Lions, being relatively large sized predators, need medium and
large sized prey to sustain themselves. For instance buffalo,
impala, zebra and gemsbok. However they will at times hunt down
mice and also occasionally even larger species such as giraffe,
hippopotamus and young elephant. They also prey on birds,
insects and reptiles. They hunt down other predators at times,
not eating them, to lessen competition in the food chain. At
times they become carnivorous on their own species, male lions
eating young cubs. There have been reports of lions eating men
at certain points in time. Scavenges frequently as well. In the
Kruger National Park research has shown that lions have a diet
consisting of 29% of impala, 16% of Burchell's zebra, 14% of
blue wildebeest, 13% of warthog and 13% of porcupine.
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