| Incredible detail
is provided on each of the almost 100 larger mammals of the Southern African subregion |
Afrikaans Leeu Shona Shumba Zulu Ngonyama
Shangaan Nghala Tswana Tau
Photo Kobus Hugo |
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Tracks
F 15 cm
H 13 cm |
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Distribution |
Dung
12-15 cm
Contains bone fragments and hair |
Description
A very large cat, the biggest of the African carnivores. Tawny to sandy brown with white/cream
under parts. Cubs are faintly spotted on the lower parts; some adults retain traces of the
spots. The long
tail is short-haired with a black tuft at the tip. Adult males have manes that
vary in color from tawny to black, manes also vary in size from small to a growth framing the face, covering the head between the ears, the neck, shoulders
and chest and running down as a fringe below the belly. The head is large with a strong,
heavy muzzle. Head and body length 2,6-3,3 m; tail 60-100 cm; shoulder height males 1,2 m,
females 90 cm and weight males 190 kg, females 130 kg.
Visible Male/Female Differences
Females have no manes, males are larger
Habitat
Occurs in a wide range of habitats except rain forest and true desert. Can
penetrate into arid areas along drainage lines, and can go for long periods without
drinking. Takes domestic animals and are incompatible with stock farming and human settlement.
Diet
Medium-sized and large prey: impala, wildebeest, zebra and
gemsbok,
and will also take larger species such
as buffalo, giraffe, hippo and young elephants. Also eats a very wide range of animals
from birds, reptiles, fish, and even insects, also smaller mammals down to the size of
mice. They kill other carnivores but rarely eats them, some cases of cannibalism have been recorded.
Occasionally become man-eaters especially in the Kruger National Park/Mozambique
border area. Scavenges frequently.
Reproduction
Litters of up to 6 cubs (usually 1-4) weighing 1 5 kg (1% of adult body
weight) are born at any time of year after a gestation of 110 days. Cubs
are concealed in dense cover or in a cave, away from the pride. Introduced to pride at 6-8
weeks or later if there are older
cubs in the pride. Weaning starts at 10 weeks, and is completed by 6 months. Females stay
in the pride, males leave by age of 3 years. They are competent hunters at two years,
full-grown at 3-4 years, and weight peaks at 7 years. Lifespan 13 years. Cubs
and old or disabled lions may be killed by spotted
hyenas. Lions mate about 4 times an hour over 2-3 days (!). Pride males do not compete for
matings as
female will mate with all of a pride's males in turn as each loses interest in her. Pride
females suckle one another's cubs, with no bias towards their own.
Behavior and Habits
Lions have a lazy lifestyle, typically active for only 2-4 hours in every 24.
They are most active at night and rest during the day
in shade. Lions are the only social species of Southern African feline. The
pride
consists of a group of 2-12
(typically, 3-6) closely related adult females with their young, attended by 1-6 adult
males. If there is more than one male they are often, but not always, close relatives,
often brothers.
Only pride males have access to the pride females. Males take over prides by driving
out the current males in savage and sometimes fatal fights, and are in turn displaced by
new challengers after 1-10 years, although tenures are longer when coalitions
are formed. After
a take-over the new males expel any young males from the pride and try to kill all the
cubs to bring the females quickly back into breeding condition and to ensure
offspring will have their genes. Females prefer large male coalitions because a longer tenure reduces the number of
cubs lost to infanticide at takeovers. After a take-over females come into heat and
mate
but do not conceive until the new males have established their status against possible
challengers. Lionesses cooperate to defend their cubs from infanticide. Prides hold territory with males defending against males and females against females.
Territory can be from 40 to 450 square kilometers and may be larger depending on
prey availability.
 Lions employ the classical feline hunting technique: a stalk low to the ground
to within 20 m using any available cover, a charge and chase usually not longer than 200
m and a pounce on the prey which is held with the claws,
pulled down and killed by suffocation. This is done with a throat bite closing
off the windpipe or by covering the with the lion's mouth. Lions differ from other cats by regularly hunting in groups.
When hunting small prey, each lion pursues its own animal; with larger and more dangerous prey
cooperation is needed to split a herd or pull down and kill one animal.
Cooperative hunting
includes stalking in line abreast, partly encircling the prey, or setting up of
an ambush, one lion flushing the
prey towards its companions. Most the hunting is done by the females, which are less conspicuous than the
larger, maned males (and probably because it is more comfortable for the males), but unattached males have to hunt for themselves.
When in a pride, the
males take what food they want from the females. Cubs get what the adults leave, and in
times of food shortage, starvation is their major cause of death. Hunts are more successful on dark nights, in dense cover,
when hunting lone prey and when a
close stalk is possible. One pride in Kruger National Park specializes in porcupines.
Unless outnumbered 4 to 1 by spotted hyenas lionesses can defend their kills
against other predators, or even steal the other predators' kills. Adult males do not
tolerate and their presence in a pride reduces losses of kills to spotted
hyenas.
 Sounds
The powerful sound of the African night is the lions roar: beginning with a series of grunts, building
in volume and length, and then trailing off again. Lions also grunt, cough and snarl. A
series of explosive coughs is given as a threat to intruding humans. Small cubs
have a catlike 'meow'.
Field sign
Droppings are 4 cm thick with tapered ends, usually containing hair and
bone fragments. Very dark feces point to a diet of meat with little bone,
light-colored feces indicate more bone in the diet.
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