Lion is a royal animal with strong body, brownish colour and glowing eyes. It has supremacy over all animals whereas the man controls this dangerous animal. Lion is the most powerful animal in the dog family. It remains calm and is a symbol of royalty, beauty and power. The Lion also known as royal animal or king of forest, who rules over all animals. The lion can run very fast and roars very loudly. Lion do not like to live in thick forest, however, it can live both in cool and warm climates of semi-desert areas.
Most of the lions live in the wood-lands, grassy plains and in mountains with scrub trees. They usually found in European, African countries, Middle-East, India and Pakistan. There are about 30000 lions left in the wild of Africa. Only 350 lions are left in Asia because of indiscriminate killing of lion by men. Only about 200 lions are believed to live in Pakistan. Lions hunt many animals for satisfaction of their hunger.
Structure of Royal Animal
The weight of average male lion is about 106 to 160 kilograms, however, some weigh upto 230 kilograms. Males are about 10 feet long and are about 3.5 feet tall. Lionesses are about a feet shorter in length than the males and weigh about 113 to 140 kilograms. Lions live in a group like joint family which called pride. A pride consists of 10 to 20 lions or as many as 35 lions. The female lion is called lioness which gives birth to the young ones. The young ones of lion are called cubs. The gestation period of a lion is about 100 days.
The lioness gives birth to 1 to 6 cubs. The cubs are born blind and they open their eyes after a week. The cubs can see well after two weeks. The lioness hides the cubs in thick bushes in their early age. The cubs are being introduced to their pride after 6 weeks. The average life span of a lion is 20 to 25 years in captivity and 15 to 20 years in the wild. They sleep and rest for about 20 hours a day. They usually walk around 8 kilometers in a day. If they have had a big meal, they may rest for 24 hours also.
Characteristics of Lion
A hungry lion can travel as far as 24 kilometers in search of food. It is very interesting that a cub may nurse on any lioness which has milk besides its own mother. A lion prefers large prey like zebra, antelope, deer, buffalo, warthog and other hoofed animals. The lioness usually do the hunting for the pride. However, the male lion also helps in hunting if needed to take down large animals. The cubs are very vulnerable in absence of lioness. A male lion can eat 34 kilograms in one meal. After killing an animal, the lion drags it to a shady spot. One lion can drag a 270 kilogram animal, something that is difficult for six men to do.