On August 10th we celebrate World Lion Day! Panthera’s team of big cat experts has answered some of your most frequently asked questions about lion behavior, conservation and culture.
In 2013 WLD was founded partly to bring awareness to the species' symbolic importance worldwide. Still today people across cultures will see lions adorning flags, guarding palaces or embellishing coins. And today people will also see the impacts of climate change. The irrevocable threats of climate change are mostly impacting areas such as Southern Africa, where some of the last strongholds of lions remain. So today, when we see a lion, perhaps we see it as a symbol to be mindful about our actions and how we can work together, with pride, to stop climate change.
Rae Kokeš, Lion Biologist and co-founder of World Lion Day
Research points to a lion’s mane being a product of sexual selection, rather than natural selection.
1. If a pride has two or more dominant males, do both of them breed with the females?
Sometimes. According to Lion Program Director Paul Funston, “The classic description of lion sociality from the Serengeti studies suggests that male lions do not have a hierarchy in a coalition and that its female choice that determines which male gets more or less mating opportunities. However, one sometimes sees cases in coalitions where certain individuals are just larger and older than others and clearly display dominance.” Interestingly, some studies of lions from the Gir Forest of India support the idea that there may be hierarchies within the males of pride, especially when pride size is smaller.
2. Why do lions have manes?
Program Manager Kristoffer Everatt says that research points to a lion’s mane as a product of sexual selection, rather than natural selection. This means that females show preferences for bigger, darker manes. Male lions with these traits will then get to mate more and pass on those genes more frequently. This situation is similar to that of a male peacock’s elaborate feather display.
3. Are lions the biggest cat?
No. The largest cat species on average is the tiger (Panthera tigris). However, many individual lions (especially males) can be larger in size than individual tigers. Lions also have a longer skull, on average, than tigers.
4. Are lions endangered?
Lions are listed as globally Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, lions have undergone a catastrophic decline and are on the brink of extinction in all but the largest and best managed national parks. Just over a century ago, there were more than 200,000 wild lions living in Africa. Today, there are only about 20,000; lions are extinct in 26 African countries and have vanished from over 95% of their historic range.
Lionesses in a pride work together to defend their territory and offspring.
5. Do lions like water?
“No”, says Lion Program Director Paul Funston, “Unlike water-loving tigers, lions have a disdain for water and will avoid getting wet whenever they can. Lions never look comfortable in the water and will walk further rather than crossing even fairly narrow water bodies. They never rest in water to keep cool, or play, as spotted hyaenas and tigers do. One explanation might be that the water bodies lions encounter generally have large crocodiles in them who are certainly a great threat to their cubs if not to the adult lions themselves.”
6. Is a “mountain lion” the same as a lion?
No. The mountain lion is one of many names given to a big cat species found in the Americas (Puma concolor) which is also commonly known as the puma or cougar. These big cats do not naturally occur in the same hemisphere.
7. Where do lions live?
Lions live on the African continent south of the Sahara but mainly in and around protected areas. There is a very small population of lions in India as well. These big cats can live in a variety of habitats including open woodland and grass savannas as well as dry forests, coastal scrub and semi-desert areas.
8. In what region(s) have lion populations grown the most in the last few years and why?
While lion populations are in decline generally they have grown somewhat in certain areas during the last decade or so. Southern Africa is leading the way for lion recovery in Africa thanks to management budgets, capacity and will to secure and manage these areas to counteract the multiple threats that lions face, most important in protected areas being bushmeat poaching and direct killing of lions for trade. This has been most notable on fenced game reserves and conservancies within South Africa, and also in Zimbabwe, Namibia, and parts of Mozambique.
Lions can live in a variety of habitats including open woodland and grass savannas as well as dry forests, coastal scrub and semi-desert areas.
9. Are there albino lions?
No. Paul Funston says, “White lions have a recessive gene for leucism, not albinism. The only place in Africa where it occurs in the wild is in the central Kruger National Park and adjoining private game reserves to the west, e.g. Timbavati, Klaserie, Umbabat.”
10. Do prides have a hierarchy among females?
No. “The classic studies from the Serengeti suggest that lionesses do not have a hierarchy and are all of equal rank as adults within the pride," says Paul Funston. "This may yet be challenged by studies in other areas, but for now, remains our understanding.” Scientists suggest that this is to preserve the important bonds between lionesses in a pride- they work together to defend their territory and offspring.
11. What are threats to lions?
The species is threatened by the illegal bushmeat trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, unsustainable trophy hunting and conflict with local people due to the real or perceived threat lions pose to livestock. The conversion of the lion’s wild habitat additionally forces lions and people into closer contact. Livestock begins to replace the lion’s natural prey, fueling human-lion conflict in which lions are killed using poison, guns, snares and other methods, in retaliation or because of their perceived threat to human livelihood.
Rampant bushmeat poaching by local people exacerbates this conflict by depleting lions’ natural prey. In a vicious cycle, lions drawn to the calls of prey snared by poachers often become ensnared themselves, succumbing either to starvation or their fatal wounds. Additionally, trophy hunting in nine African countries and the illegal hunting of lions for their body parts used in local and international, primarily Asian, traditional medicines are further contributing to lion population declines.
12. Do lions roar or purr?
Most big cats, including lions, can not purr. Instead, they’re known for their famous roars. This iconic vocalization is due to the hyoid bone in the cat’s throat being attached to a specialized stretching ligament. According to a scientific study, these roars can reach up to 114 decibels (about 25 times louder than a gas-powered lawnmower).
A concerted hunt by an entire group of lions is one of the most formidable sights on the African plains.
13. What do lions eat and how do they hunt?
“Lions are often referred to as the apex predator of the African savanna, meaning they are the most powerful and dominant predator,” says West and Central Regional Coordinator of our Lion Program, Philipp Henschel. “Prides can hunt and kill even the largest herbivores, such as giraffes and even elephants. Although more commonly, they hunt and feed on species like buffalo and zebra, which weigh between 300 and 800 kg. While other carnivores may surpass the lion in speed and endurance, the lion’s attack capitalizes on a fast and short dash, ideally from dense cover, followed by a powerful attack to bring the prey down to the ground. A concerted hunt by an entire group of lions is one of the most formidable sights on the African plains.”
14. Do lions attack other predators like cheetahs and hyenas?
Yes, they definitely do.SMART Project Manager Xia Stevens says she has observed many mortalities of cheetah, wild dogs and leopards being killed by lions over the years. According to Paul Funston, lions have also been known to kill cheetah cubs and wild dog pups. While leopards tend to eat whatever they kill, lions have been observed killing these predators’ offspring for reasons other than turning them into meals.
15. How do communities live alongside lions?
It’s a complicated issue, according to Donovan Jooste, Angola Project Manager. He says, “The answer is simple yet complex- they are taught to live alongside lions. These communities have been living among lions and other predators and ungulate species for centuries and have been engaged in an endless back and forth with wildlife for just as long. With predators opportunistically targeting unattended livestock, an extremely valuable asset to the communities, could be lost in the blink of an eye. Communities through years of coexistence have learned to handle the situation in their own way, which often results in the demise of the targeted lions. This often has an extremely detrimental result on lion prides and populations within protected and wildlife areas.
“Dedicated conservationists, park rangers, game guards and most importantly community members commit their time to share community members with knowledge on how to live alongside wildlife. There is no quick fix or simple answer to such a question, multiple solutions implemented in various ways all contribute to the synergy between not only lions, but wildlife as a whole and humans. In my opinion, the first and probably most important factor is to understand the situation from the community’s perspective. Many people don’t compete daily with wildlife to support their families, communities living within and alongside wildlife and protected areas do.”
16. How are lions adapting to climate change?
It will likely be a struggle for them to survive the impacts of human responses to climate change. Kristoffer Everatt explains that while generally an adaptable carnivore, lions cannot survive in areas that have become depleted of their prey or in areas where livestock grazing and the associated killing of lions for livestock conflict are too great. Unfortunately, climate change is creating more of these situations.
Climate models suggest that Africa will experience increased weather extremes and in particular increased frequency and severity of droughts. This likely means reduced crop yields, impacting food security which will lead to increased levels of bushmeat poaching and greater depletion of lion prey. Increased droughts will also increase the need for an expansion of the pastoralist footprint, including cattle having to search for grazing further into wilderness areas leading to increased competition with wild ungulates, increased degradation of grasslands and increased lion-livestock conflict.
Prides can hunt and kill even the largest herbivores, such as giraffes and even elephants.
17. How can I get into working in lion conservation?
If you wish to study lions in the field then our experts suggest pursuing advanced degrees. Studying wildlife management can also lead to various jobs in park management and tourism. We urge people to understand that any captive facility that allows people to interact with and touch lions or other big cats is not part of the successful conservation model.
18. What are the male's roles in the pride and do they hunt?
Paul Funston tells us that the primary role of adult males in the pride is to defend the home space in which the lionesses are raising the cubs from intrusion by other male lions who want to take over the pride and who would kill the cubs after doing so. Typically a normal-sized pride of lions has two adult males who defend its home space against intrusion from other lions. Sometimes the coalitions are larger than two and may contain three to several males.
19. Are there "lone" lions?
Yes, there are indeed lone lions at times. Both males and females can become nomadic, especially during specific phases of their life. Lone males approaching adulthood will typically search for another lone male to bond into a coalition before seeking a territory to challenge for.
If you wish to study lions in the field then our experts suggest pursuing advanced degrees.
20. How big is a pride’s territory?
Lion prides hold varying sized territories across their range. The size is determined primarily by the amount of prey available in the area. Areas like Ngorongoro Crater that have abundant prey can see territories as small as 30 km while those with less prey availability, such as desert environments, can be several thousand square kilometers large.
21. How is Panthera protecting lions?
Panthera’s Project Leonardo aims to protect lions in the key lion conservation landscapes, including in and just outside key African national parks, and build or support corridors that guarantee their safe passage. The program’s overall goal is to bring lion populations back to a minimum of 30,000 individuals within 15 years. Panthera has been leading or supporting efforts in over a dozen lion range states in Africa, locking down key landscapes for lion survival.
After identifying Lion Conflict Landscapes, or areas where lions are under the greatest threat, Panthera introduces tools and techniques tailored to specific lion populations and surrounding communities. These measures include mitigating human-lion conflict by working with villagers to implement better animal husbandry techniques and supporting local law enforcement in their efforts to reduce illegal hunting.
Some of this information comes from the book Wild Cats of the World by Luke Hunter.
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