From #LionKing to BBC’s #BigCatDiary and many other travel documentaries, the #lion has forever been a symbol of strength, power and ferocity. African lion belongs to the famous ‘#BIGFIVE’ category, others are leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo.
QUICK FACTS:
✅SCIENTIFIC NAME: Panthera Leo
✅WEIGHT: 125 to 272 kilograms (277 to 600 pounds)
✅SIZE: 1.2 meters at the shoulder (48 inches) and about 2 to 3.3 meters in length (7 to 11 feet)
✅LIFE SPAN: 10 to 18 years in the wild. Up to 30 years in captivity.
✅HABITAT: Grassy plains and open woodlands
✅DIET: Carnivorous
✅GESTATION: Average about 109 days
WEIRD FACTS:
✅A lion may sleep up to 20 hours a day.
✅A lion’s heels don’t touch the ground when it walks.
✅A good gauge of a male lion’s age is the darkness of his mane. The darker the mane, the older the lion.
✅A lion can run for short distances at 50 mph and leap as far as 36 feet.
✅A lion’s roar can be heard from as far as 5 miles away.
✅These majestic cats are threatened by habitat loss. The lion is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
✅Male lions defend the pride’s territory while females do most of the hunting. Despite this, the males eat first.
✅African lions are the most social of all big cats and live together in groups or “prides.” A pride consists of about 15 lions.
✅Lions scent mark their territory, using their wee, to create a border.
✅Female lions are the main hunters. While they’re out looking for food, the males guard the pride’s territory and their young.
BEST PLACES TO SEE LIONS & OTHER BIG CATS IN THE WILD IN EAST AFRICA:
East Africa’s wild places rank among Africa’s best places to see lions, leopards and cheetahs. These are the carnivores that bring the savannah alive, the apex predators that bring fear and frisson to vast herds of prey wildlife and safari-goers alike, animating the East African plains by their mere presence. And if you know where to look, you may just see all three in a single day.
✔MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE – #KENYA -BIG CAT DIARY:
✔TSAVO EAST & WEST NATIONAL PARKS- #KENYA – MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO’
✔AMBOSELI NATIONAL PARK – KENYA (ELEPHANT COUNTRY).
✔LAKE NAKURU NATIONAL PARK – KENYA.
✔RUAHA NATIONAL PARK- #TANZANIA (ESSENCE OF AFRICA).
✔SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK- TANZANIA.
✔NGORONGORO CRATER – TANZANIA:
✔LAKE MANYARA PARK – FAMOUS FOR TREE-CLIMBING LIONS
✔KIDEPO VALLEY NATIONAL PARK: UGANDA (PEARL OF AFRICA).
✔QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK: UGANDA.
✔MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK – UGANDA:
✔AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK – #RWANDA (LAND OF 1000 HILLS):
