10 Interesting Facts About Lions You Didn’t Know

Lions are members of the Felidae family and one of the big cats in the genus Panthera. The generally used term ‘African lion’ refers to various subspecies of lions found in Africa. With some male lions exceeding 550 lb (250 kg) in weight, lions are the second largest cat after the tiger. At present, wild lions exist in Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa while other kinds of lions have vanished from Southwest Asia and North Africa in historic times. This list contains 10 interesting facts about lions you didn’t know.

Meat

Adult lions require between 10 and 15 pounds of meat each day.

Life Span

Lions in captivity live twice as long as lions in the wild (15 years in the wild; 25 to 30 years in captivity).

Barbary Lions

Ancient Romans used Barbary lions to battle with gladiators.

Prides

Lions are the only social member of the Felidae (cat) family and live in groups known as prides. An average pride consists of 15 lions.

Roar

The roar of a lion can be heard from 5 miles away.

Mane

A good gauge of the age of a male lion is the darkness of his mane. The older the male lion, the darker its mane.

Heels

The heels of a lion do not touch the ground when it walks.

Night Vision

Lions have great night vision. The eyes of a lion are 6 times more sensitive to light than a human’s eyes.

War Deities

Ancient Egyptians worshiped lions as their war deities due to their fierceness, power and strength.

Water

Lions can go without drinking water for 4 days.