L I O N S A presentation by Tommy Rospide Diharce

FACT SHEET

Type: Mammal.

Diet: Carnivore.

Habitat: Savannah.

Group Name: Pride.

Size: 1.6 to 2.30 Mts. (Including Tail)

Weight: 120 to 191 kg.

Life Expectancy: 12 to 15 years.

WHERE DO THEY LIVE?

1.4 to 2 mts

WHERE DO THEY LIVE?

1.4 to 2 mts In Open Woodlands

In Shrubs

In Grasslands

WHAT DO THEY EAT?

Antelopes Buffaloes Zebras

Crocodiles Giraffes Rhinos

ROLES IN THE PRIDE

1.4 to 2 mts THE MALE LIONS

How?

› Roaring.

› Marking with urine.

› Chasing off intruders.

They guard their territory and cubs.

ROLES IN THE PRIDE

ROLES IN THE PRIDE

1.4 to 2 mts THE FEMALE LIONS (Lionesses)

Why?

› They are smaller.

› They are more agile.

They are primary hunters.

ROLES IN THE PRIDE

1.4 to 2 mts How?

Teamwork!

› They form a semicircle.

› The smaller and weaker herd the

prey towards the centre.

› The stronger females knock the

animal down and make the kill.

ROLES IN THE PRIDE

1.4 to 2 mts

WHAT DO THEY LIKE?

1.4 to 2 mts

They are the LAZIEST of big cats!

› They spend 16 to 20 hours sleeping or resting.

› They like rubbing their heads.

› They like lying on their backs with

their feet up.

› They like taking a snooze up in a

tree.

WHAT DO THEY LIKE?

1.4 to 2 mts

WHAT ARE THEY SCARE OF?

1.4 to 2 mts

› Habitat Loss.

› Human Hunters.

› Diseases.

The population of African Lions is almost 50%

less in the past 20 years. This is because:

TEETH

1.4 to 2 mts Lions have three types of teeth:

1. Incisors: the smallest teeth at the front of the

mouth. They are used for gripping and tearing

meat.

2. Canines: the four largest teeth (either side of the

incisors). They are used to rip skin and tear away

meat.

3. Carnassial: the sharpest teeth at the back of the

mouth, act like a pair of scissors to cut meat.

TEETH

1.4 to 2 mts Lions can open their jaws to up 10½ centimeters wide, giving them one of the animal kingdom’s biggest bites!

PAWS AND CLAWS

1.4 to 2 mts › They have 5 toes on the front paws and 4 on the

back.

› Lions have retractable claws. This means that they

can be stretched out and then drawn back inside

again under the fur where they are hidden.

› They can grow up to 38 millimetres in length and

are very strong and sharp.

PAWS AND CLAWS

1.4 to 2 mts Lions sharpen their

claws by scratching

trees to keep them

extra pointy!

TOUNGE

1.4 to 2 mts

› A lion’s tongue is as rough as sandpaper.

› It is covered in tiny spines, called papillae, which

face backwards and are used to scrape meat from

bones and dirt from fur.

TOUNGE

1.4 to 2 mts The lion´s tongue is so

rough that if a lion licked

the back of your hand only

a few times, you would be

left without any skin!

FUR

1.4 to 2 mts

› Lion cubs are born with a greyish wooly coat, with

dark spots covering most of the back, legs and

face. These spots act as camouflage.

› As the cubs get older, their fur gradually begins to

turn thicker and more golden in colour.

FUR

1.4 to 2 mts

THE MANE

1.4 to 2 mts › At around 12 to 14 months old, male cubs begin

to grow longer hair around their chests and necks.

› The mane continues to gets longer and darker

with age.

› The length and darkness of a lion’s mane is

affected by where it lives.

› Nobody really knows why a male lion grows a

mane.

FUR

1.4 to 2 mts A male lion's mane

protects it when it

fights.

WHISKERS

1.4 to 2 mts › Very sensitive hairs on the face, close to the nose,

which are used to help them feel the things around

them.

› Each whisker has a black spot at its root. The

pattern that these spots make is different for every

lion; just as our own fingerprints are different from

everyone else’s.

WHISKERS

1.4 to 2 mts Because no two lions

have the same

pattern, it is possible

for researchers to tell

them apart in the wild.

TAIL

1.4 to 2 mts › A lion has a long tail which helps it to balance.

› A lion’s tail has a black tassel at the end.

› This can be used to lead other lions through long

grass. Females raise their tail to give a 'follow me'

signal to their cubs and also use it to communicate

with each other when hunting prey.

› A lion’s tail also is a good sign of how it is feeling.

TAIL

1.4 to 2 mts By flicking its tail, a lion

can warn others to stay

away because it is in a

bad mood.

EYES

1.4 to 2 mts › Lion cubs are born blind and don’t begin to open

their eyes until around three to four days old.

› Lion’s eyes are quite large with round pupils that

are three times as big as a human’s.

› A second eyelid, helps to clean and protect the

eye.

› At night, a reflective coating on the back of the

eye helps to reflect moonlight.

EYES

1.4 to 2 mts

Lions can’t move their eyes from

side to side very well, so have to

move their whole head when they

want to look in different directions.

SENSE OF SMELL

1.4 to 2 mts

› If you ever see a picture of a lion curling up its top

lip and pulling a funny face, the chances are it’s

using something called its Jacobson’s organ.

› By showing their teeth and sticking out their

tongues, lions are able to catch hold of a smell to

work out if it’s coming from something worth eating.

SENSE OF SMELL

1.4 to 2 mts Jacobson´s organ is

a small area in the

roof of the mouth that

allows a lion to ‘taste’

smells in the air.

SENSE OF HEARING

1.4 to 2 mts

› Lions have good sense of hearing.

› They are able to hear their prey from a mile way.

SENSE OF HEARING

1.4 to 2 mts They can turn their

ears in different

directions to listen to

sounds all around

them

That´s all folks! Thank you!