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Lions are some of the most incredible animals on the planet. They are not only some of the largest predators in the world, but they also hunt in large groups. We’ve rounded up 13 of the most mind-boggling lion facts you can find. You will learn everything from the lion that survived the plane crash to why lions can be louder than football stadiums. Let’s start!
1.) The largest lion ever recorded weighed 690 pounds!
The largest lion ever recorded weighed 690 pounds. He was shot dead in South Africa in 1936. By comparison, the largest wolf ever recorded weighed “only” 175 pounds.
Ancient lions could grow even larger. The American lion, which became extinct about 11,000 years ago, could weigh up to 1,153 pounds!
2.) Lions sleep more than 20 hours a day!
You may like to sleep 8 or 9 hours a night, but a lion gets that much sleep. will not be able to function. Prey hunting is extremely energy intensive, so lions sleep a lot to conserve energy between hunts.
In total, lions sleep 20 to 21 hours a day! Species such as lions, which have few natural predators, can afford to sleep more. Herbivores generally sleep less as species such as elephants and giraffes only sleep two hours a day in the wild.
3.) Lions, tigers and bears can become best friends!
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After a search of a house in Atlanta in 2001, police discovered that a crime boss had illegally contained a lion, a tiger, and a bear cub that were malnourished. The three cubs were taken to Noah’s Ark Animal Shelter, where they recovered from poor care.
Here’s what’s surprising: Three apex predators merged during the experiment and became “friends” for life. They lived in the same environment and maintained an incredible bond until the demise of the Lion Lion and the tiger Shere Khan. Today only the bear Baloo is left. He attended the funeral of both of his friends and will be buried next to them so the trio can stay together forever.
4.) The lion’s roar is heard over 5 miles!
Here’s a lion that’s sure to impress: the lion’s roar reaches 114 decibels! On average, around 111.2 decibels during football matches, which makes the lion’s roar even louder than in a crowded football stadium!
No other big cat can roar as loudly as a lion, and their roar can be heard for more than 5 miles.
5.) The most famous lion in the world – the MGM lion – survived the plane crash!
If you have ever seen James Bond Then you saw the distinctive growl of an MGM lion at the beginning of the film. MGM registered the lion trademark in 1916 and it has since become iconic at the start of their films.
However, you might not know that the MGM lion once survived a plane crash! In 1927, MGM flew with their lion mascot across the country to draw attention to the tragedies that had occurred. On a flight from San Diego to New York, the plane carrying the lion crashed.
Surprisingly, the MGM lion survived the crash and lived for four days before being rescued. At this time, he ate sandwiches and milk from the crashed plane. The lion became known as “Leo the Lucky” and survived a number of other accidents, including a sinking ship, an explosion at the MGM studio, and numerous train crashes.
6.) Entry to London Zoo could be a payment for a cat or a dog … It would be to feed the lions.
Personally, I prefer to pay $ 20 to visit the zoo, but then there were other times!
Hundreds of years ago, if you lived in Europe, it was simply not possible to see “exotic” animals such as lions, except for images, which were often bad images. For this reason, when members of the royal family caught rare animals from all over the world, they were a significant attraction. The Royal Menagerie in London at one time contained many animals from all over the world.
In his book The Ark in the Park: A Zoo in the Nineteenth Century, author Wilfrid Blunt wrote:
In the eighteenth century, the public was admitted to the Tower Menagerie for a fee of three halfpence, or, alternatively, for a cat or dog fed by lions.
The Ark in the Park: A Zoo in the Nineteenth Century
7.) Lions have lost 94% of their habitat and over 90% of their population.
5000 years ago, lions roamed north of Greece to Eastern Europe, through Iran, India and all of Africa.
Today, lions have lost more than 94% of their historical range. They have only one small population left in India’s only national park. In Africa, they were largely exterminated from West and North Africa. The rest of the lion populations live in pockets throughout South and East Africa.
Even more alarming, they continue to decline.
- According to ICUN estimates, from 1993 to 2014, the global lion population declined by 42%.
- In the early 1960s, there were 100,000 lions in Africa.
- At the beginning of the 20th century, the lion population was estimated to be between 200,000 and 1 million lions.
Today, the world’s lion population is estimated at around 20,000. This means that since the beginning of the 20th century, the lion population has dropped from 90% to 98%.
8.) Lions are great hunters, but they have tiny hearts.
Lions are some of the largest carnivores in the world, but they have limitations. For example, their heart weighs only 1175 grams, which is small for their body size. Due to their smaller heart and lungs, lions do not hunt for endurance. Instead, they rely on both stealth and teamwork to surprise their prey. Lions can run incredibly fast – up to 50 miles per hour – but only in short bursts. This means that the lions need to get close to their prey before attacking, or forcing the prey to attack other lions waiting to be attacked.
9.) Lions are the only big cats living in social groups.
Look among other big cats and you will see lonely hunters. Tiger, jaguars and leopards are hunted individually. Only lions live and hunt in social groups called prides.
The prides are composed mostly of women. A typical pride can have up to a dozen females, no more than three males, as well as lion cubs. Males without pride can form coalitions that hunt and live together. This brings us to the next fact about lions …
10.) The Male Lion Union has killed over 100 rivals and ruled over an area 7 times the size of Manhattan!
As just noted, male lions without a pride often form coalitions that can rule large tracts of land. In 2006, a coalition of male lions formed in the Sabi Sand area of the Kruger National Park in South Africa.
The coalition known as the Mapogo Coalition included six male lions who ruled over 170,000 acres. The lions were ruthless and killed over 100 rival lions and cubs and ruled over 8 separate prides. As you can imagine, male lion unions minor and are associated with frequent collisions. The Mapogo coalition eventually split into two groups in 2010. These smaller groups were pushed back by rival alliances, and the last member of the group passed away in 2012.
11.) Young lions are engaged in role-playing games.
When lions age, they tend to sleep all day and save your energy. However, young lions are much more playful. Young lions will play roles with each other, which is more than just a game, but helps them develop their hunting methods. Lions will oversee this RPG and determine which young lions are best suited for stalking, cornering, or catching and killing prey in future hunts.
12.) Lions used to have the largest range of all mammals – with the exception of humans!
Scientists believe that over 13,000 years ago, lions were the most abundant mammal outside of humans. This is because, in addition to the only remaining species of lions today, there were two more:
- Cave lions: which lived in the steppes of Europe, in much of modern Europe, in Russia and in Alaska.
- American Lions: Found in parts of Canada, most of them. modern United States and Mexico
Both of these species became extinct between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago, while megafauna such as mammoths and woolly rhinos also disappeared. In addition to these now extinct species, many lion subpopulations, such as the Barbary lion and Cape lion, occupied wider geographic ranges extending far beyond where lions live today. Be sure to give our complete guide to lion types to read the backstory of all lion types, past and present.
13) Lions can eat an incredible amount of food.
Most people eat about 2% of their weight per day. Think how much you can eat a two-pound steak in just one sitting!
Lions eat less often than humans, but when they do, they can gorge. Male lions can eat up to 70 pounds per meal. This amount of food can be between 10% and 20% of their body weight!
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