Facts about the lion
Panthera leo
The lion is the largest and strongest of all African carnivores. A big male can
weigh up to 230 Kg and reach a height of 1.2 meters at the shoulder, this
enhanced by a long mane extending from the sides of the face onto the neck and
down to the shoulders and chest is an awesome sight and can hardly be confused
with any other species. Females are smaller and more often than not, leaner and
weigh up to 155 Kg. Both male and female are usually tawny in colour with
lighter under parts. The colour is often darker in older animals.
Lions are the most sociable of the cat family
and live in prides of up to 20 individuals. The pride size often depends on the
availability of prey and the size of that pride’s territory. The pride is
defended by both males and females against nomadic lions although of the several
females in a pride, one is normally dominant. Both males and females mark their
territory by earth scratching, dropping and urinating on trees, etc. During
African nights a loud roar that can be heard up to 8 Km’s also lets other
lions know which pride occupies the territory.
Lions spend about 18 hours a day inactive,
lying up during the day and hunting at night or early morning. Lions are
however, opportunists, and will basically try and catch prey at any time of the
day if the situation demands it. Lions will kill and eat anything they can catch
with few exceptions but the lion is mainly a hunter of medium to large-size
mammals, especially ungulates. Lions will also rob other hunters of their prey.
The hunting is done mostly by females, but despite this the males generally feed
before the females. Cubs fight over the remains after the females have eaten.
Lions do not possess the stamina of wild dogs
and hyenas. They will seldom chase their prey for longer than 50 meters. Lions
are not faster than antelope and after about 30 meters the gap between lion and
prey opens up. At this time the lion will give up the chase. For this reason
lions prefer to conceal themselves near watering holes and game paths waiting
for an opportunity to surprise their prey. Lions will also stalk their prey
using all available cover until they are close enough to rush. The black tip of
the lions tail is used to signal its position when more than one lion or lioness
is stalking a particular animal.
You and the lion
Nothing quite matches the apprehension and
excitement you will feel when you encounter lions in the bush. Excitement
because of the shear majesty of their presence, apprehension because the shear
confidence that lions show in their behavioural repertoire.
On foot, lions will move away from you when
they become aware of your presence. If they do not, you have a problem – and
if you don’t deal with the problem properly, your apprehension and excitement
goes out of the window – and you will more than likely become a statistic.
When lions do not move away from approaching humans it could be because they
were walking into the wind and the lions were asleep, or because the lions were
old or injured, or because the lioness was with her cubs at the hide-away.
Whatever the reason, you probably did not recognize the spoor, the noises or the
signs, and you landed up in the following situation. An angry lion, flattened
ears, tail flicking briskly¸ or twitching in ever increasing jerks. The lion
will also be growling and crouching and basically preparing to charge. This is
the recipe to avoid (not 100% effective) becoming a statistic.
Never run away. Stand still and slowly back
away downwind until you are out of sight. If the lion doesn’t like the
movement, stand still. Although the outcome of a surprise meeting is
unpredictable, lions do generally try to avoid these types of confrontations,
but if the lion charges you have got to either kill it before it reaches you, or
failing that option. Stand completely still, straight up, look the lion in the
eyes at all times and start shouting abuse at the top of your lungs. The lion
will probably stop short of you, still growling and snorting…if the lion sees
you are unnerved, it will disappear, or mock again in one last attempt before it
runs off.
Getting out of a motorcar near lions is much
more dangerous than encountering them on foot. Lions don’t like surprises and
when you magically appear less than 20 meters away, the lion will get a fright
and simply get up and run away, or simply charge and kill you.
Always try to be prepared and conditioned to
react without running or a show of fear. When a lion charges you there will be
no time to think about what you were doing that close in the first place.
Written by Neil Heron
