Lions of Africa

Africa is the Home of the Lion, the Ultimate Predator

Oct 13, 2008 Yolande Pienaar

Africa is the home of lions and African safaris are the best method to learn more about the African Lion's physical appearance, social behavior and mating rituals.

Whether it is the Bushveld of South Africa's Kruger National Park or semi - desert areas like the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa and Botswana) and Etosha in Namibia or the swamps of the Okavango Delta, lions are adaptable and inhabit any area where food, mostly antelope, rodents, lizards and birds, is available. They are also not above scavenging.

Physical Appearance of African Lions

Lions are mammals and the biggest of all the cat species in Africa. The cubs have dark rosettes and spots on their yellow-brown bodies, which disappear as the lion matures. Black patches adorn the hairs at the back of the rounded ears and the end of the tail.

Only male lions develop long dark manes at the age of three years, which grow longer and darker with age. The mane serves as a deterrent to other male lions and also to protect the neck and face in fights with competitors. As the lion ages and his physical and territorial conditions deteriorate, he might lose some of the mane, making him appear like an young adult.

The face is lighter in color and their whiskers and hair around the mouth are white. Adult male lions are much larger than the lionesses and weighs between 180 kilograms and 240 kilograms while lionesses weigh between 120 kilograms and 180 kilograms.

Lion spoor have four toes and one large pad on each foot. They can retract their nails the same as any housecat. The spoor of an average lion is between 12.5 centimeters and 15.5 centimeters long.

Social Structure of the Lions of Africa

According to Burger Cillie in the book The Mammal Guide of Southern Africa, Briza Publishers, 2004, lions are the only cat species that form social groups of between three to twelve lions, but prides of thirty lions are occasionally observed. The pride consists of one dominant male (seldom two), a dominant lioness, other adult lionesses and young lions. When a new lion takes over the pride he sometimes kills the existing young cubs in the pride to ensure the females come into heat again. Thereby he ensures his bloodline continues. This is the exception rather than the rule in the drier areas like the Kalahari Desert.

African lions are mostly nocturnal animals and lionesses mostly hunt at night, but they are also active early in the morning and late afternoon, which is the best time for any visitor to find them inside the National Parks. They often rest in the shade during the hottest part of the day .

Mating Ritual of African Lions

Lions do not have a specific mating season and lionesses come into heat at any time during the year. The dominant male and the lioness move some distance away from the pride and the mating ritual takes place over a period of about four days. Copulation is quick, between 30-70 seconds and repetitive, on average every twenty-five minutes, according to David Shelburne in "The African Lion"

One to four (in rare occasions six) cubs weighing one and a half kilograms are born after a gestation period of fourteen to fifteen weeks. The pregnant lioness moves away from the pride to give birth and would return to the pride once the cubs are four to eight weeks old. She will also take care to return only when the older cubs are weaned as to not compete with her cubs for food. The whole pride then takes care of the young, protecting them from other predators.

Hunting

The lionesses hunt in a group by stalking the prey from upwind and getting as close as possible to the prey before pouncing. A club with the mighty foot is usually enough to kill smaller prey while a big prey's neck is broken or it is smothered.

Enemies

Lions have few real enemies and their only natural enemies are crocodiles. Packs of spotted hyenas will also fight lone lionesses (rarely lions) to obtain the kill and both predators kill each others' cubs when the opportunity arises.

Lions are truly the ultimate predator on the African plains and well worth seeking out.

The copyright of the article Lions of Africa in Mammals is owned by Yolande Pienaar. Permission to republish Lions of Africa in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.