What do Lions Eat

What do Lions Eat

Lion is a big cat, also called the "king of the jungle" or "king of the beasts". They are belonging to Panthera genus and scientific name of is Panthera Leo. The word lion derived from Latin word Leo and Ancient Greek word Leon. Lion is the second largest cat species after the Siberian tiger.

Lions prefer to live in grasslands, woodlands, dense shrub, Savana and they ranged acress Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Lions live in groups of 15 or more which is called pride. Each pride has one or two male lions and remaining members are lioness and cubs.

Lions are carnivorous animals so they eat the flesh or meat of other animals. Lions hunt either alone or in pride. They kill the prey by breaking its neck or they grasp the prey’s throat for suffocating it. After killing, the stomach of the dead animal is the easiest point of entry to access the most nutritious parts of the body such as kidneys, heart and liver of the prey. Most of hunting is done by lioness however, the male lion offers help especially when to take down bigger prey. After killing, male lion eat first and the lioness or cubs wait for their turn.

 Lions use their claws for fighting or hunting. The claws remain sharp into a protective sheath. When they need to use their claws, they contract their muscles and claws push out. They have large canine teeth which are used to catch and kill prey but these are useless when it comes to eat. Lion’s tongue is very rough because it has very rough burbs on its tongue which is very useful for grooming purposes and removing meat and fur from the prey.

The lions are apex predators and are at the top of the food chain. They hunt as a group by creating strategic plans which increase their success to get their prey and also take down very large animals. Generally, lions hunt by using two methods. The first method is by stalking the prey. They hide into the bush or tall grasses and watch the prey as long as possible. Slowly, they surround the prey by crawling quietly. When they come close enough, attack the prey and grasp the prey’s throat so that it stops breathing. They paralyze their prey by crushing its neck with their powerful claws.

In the second method, the lionesses become straight forward because the male lion join with them. Basically lioness hunt but sometimes when the prey is bigger and stronger, the male lion also join with them. Then they do not need to hide or stalk but they corner the prey and fight face to face with it.

Lions cannot run very fast and they can’t run for very long.  Their maximum speed is 60 kilometres per hour. Lions prefer to hunt the slower animals, weak or injured animals or babies of the animals, which are easy to catch. When hunting smaller animals, lions clip the animal’s ankle from behind while it is walking or running. When they hunt big animal, they jump on the animal’s back to bring it ground. They hunt hoofed-animals, deer, bison, as well as giraffe, buffalo, zebra, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, ostrich, small crocodile, tortoise etc. When they unable to hunt or scarce of food, the lions eat carrion or steal food from other predators. Adult male lion eats 16 pound and lioness eats 11 pounds of meat each day. Lions eat every 3 to 4 days but can live more than a week without food. They hunt animals even when they are not hungry.  

Lions don’t drink a lot of water but they stay close to rivers, streams or any water bodies because they know the thirsty prey come there to drink water. They spend the day by laying there and wait for the prey.

Lions usually hunt at dusk and dawn but during the day time, they usually take rest or sleep. They have very sharp eyesight so they able to see well in the dark.

 Sometimes the lion kill the humans. Man-eating has been recorded but humans are considered competitive predators rather than prey. At the end of 19th century, a pair of male lions killed 28 Indians and dozens of Africans in Tsavo, Kenya. In 1920, 48 humans were killed by a single male lion at Ankole, Uganda. Between 1932 and 1947 around 2000 people were killed by a man-eating pride in the Njombe district of Tanzania.