In Central Africa, one of the largest animals of the cat family, the lion, lives in open spaces. He always enjoyed the reverence and respect of a man. His image could often be found on coats of arms and banners. In ancient Egypt, the lion was considered a sacred animal. In Greece, he was seen as a companion of the goddesses. Of all the diversity of the fauna of our planet, it was he who received the title of "king of animals".
Appearance
People have always endowed the lion with the best qualities. This is invincibility, nobility, loy alty and courage. However, it is known that the majestic cat in the animal kingdom is not at all the most agile, fast and intelligent among other large predators.
So why are lions called "the king of beasts"?
This animal has always inspired fear. There are many factors that speak to its greatness. First of all, it is the appearance of a predator.
Among the felines, he is the absolute champion in shoulder height. The luxurious mane of males can reach 40 cm in length. It begins to grow in lion cubs at the age of six months, and over time it becomes more magnificent and thicker.
For each individual, it grows individually, depending on belonging to a subspecies, living conditions, in particular, on temperature. However, the main factor in its development is the level of the hormone testosterone.
Also, the lion has well-developed, powerful legs. During the hunt, strong jaws play a huge role, often the length of the fangs reaches 8 cm. The color of the “king of beasts” varies from dark brown to yellowish. Usually the underside of the body is lighter in color than the top, and the tip of the tail always has a "tassel" of black.
It is worth noting that the female has no mane. This is due to the fact that she often participates in hunting, during which luxurious hair can interfere, complicating disguise.
Lions could compete with tigers for the title of "king of beasts", but they lose to the latter in the weight category. The mass of an adult male lion can reach 150-250 kg, while females are only 120-180 kg. Height at the shoulders is 123cm and 107cm respectively.
Pride
Answering the question: "Why is the lion the king of beasts?", it is necessary to pay attention to the organization of the predator's family structure. The male is the real head of the family. Groups of animals (prides) usually consist of 5-6 females who are sisters, 1-2 males and growing offspring, until they reach puberty.
Some lions are solitary. Mostly these are young individuals who left the pride in search of their own. Thus, the lionsno incest.
The leader of the group, as a rule, spends most of the time defending the territory of his pride and protecting his family. The king of beasts is feared and respected. Good sense of strict hierarchy. He always starts the meal first. If one of the family members tries to disobey, then there is a punishment, up to expulsion from the pride.
More often than not, a lion's "reign term" is short. On average, it is 2-3 years. After that, a stronger and younger male comes and "overthrows" the leader.
Territory
Like the ruler of any state, the lion - the king of animals carefully monitors the boundaries of his possessions. He constantly bypasses the territory and marks it. And with the famous loud roar, which can be heard for several kilometers, it also reminds of its presence. For the territory where his pride lives, he is ready to fight to the death.
The basis of this behavior is the need to protect females from other males. The area of possessions largely depends on the number of animals that become the prey of lions. If not enough, the borders could stretch up to 30 km in diameter.
There are also lions that constantly follow migratory herds of animals.
The conquest of territory and pride from predators is by force. Fights for dominance between males are usually very bloody. Often both opponents die at the end. The lionesses constantly chase away females that try to join the pride.
On the bordersThe territory is often roamed by young males. These are the new contenders for the leaders of the pride. If one of them succeeds, they will already say about him: "The lion is the king of beasts." But they still lack the courage and strength to challenge the owner of the territory. However, by their presence, they remind that his "reign" is not eternal.
Hunting
The definition of "the lion is the king of animals" is also confirmed by the methods of obtaining food. The fact is that the leader of the pride does not participate in the hunt. Lionesses go in search of prey.
Females are more dexterous and mobile. It is easier for them to catch the victim. They hunt in groups. Having chosen potential prey, they pursue it with a group.
However, they cannot run fast for long, only for short distances, so they mainly go in search of prey at night.
The victims are large mammals: zebras, wildebeest, wild boars, gazelles, deer. While hunting for a buffalo or a giraffe, the "king of beasts" himself can join the females. At the same time, predators imperceptibly sneak up on the herd from all sides at once. As soon as the distance becomes less than 30 meters, the lions pounce on the nearest animal.
After that, a powerful attack begins. With a quick jump, they catch the victim and begin to choke her. Smaller animals die even from a paw strike.
A lion always starts a meal first, only when he is full, females with offspring approach the prey.
Why is the lion the king of beasts? Reproduction
After reaching the age of four, the female reaches puberty. Now she's ready forbreeding.
During ovulation, a lioness can mate with several males up to 20-40 times a day.
Offspring can appear at any time of the year. However, females in a pride usually have cubs all at the same time. This makes it easier to protect and feed offspring.
Pregnancy lasts an average of 110 days. Before giving birth, the predator leaves her flock, finds a secluded place, and gives birth to up to 3-4 kittens there.
Lion cubs are born blind and helpless, weighing up to 2 kg. After a week, their eyes open, they begin to walk only after a month.
Several times during the month the female changes her place of residence. This is how she protects her children from other predators.
After two months she returns to her pride with cubs. For 6-8 weeks they eat only mother's milk, after that they begin to taste meat. At 6-7 months lactation stops.
The male treats his offspring according to his mood. He can both play with them and drive them away.
The female is engaged in teaching the younger generation. Almost all of the skills used while hunting are learned rather than innate instincts.
When changing the leader of the pack, the offspring may be in danger. A young lion is able to kill growing kittens so that the female is ready to mate again.
Life cycle
The fact that the lion is the king of animals also confirms his difficult path to "power".
Only 20% of all offspring survive to two years, most often theyfall prey to predators.
Under natural conditions, lions live up to 14 years, in captivity - up to 20. Many individuals die during fights for territory and championship in the pride. The “king of beasts” reaches puberty by 3 years. By the age of 4-5, they can claim the role of leader in the group.
If the number of the pride becomes large, then not only males, but also females can be expelled from it. Also, when a new leader seizes the championship, the same fate awaits all immature lionesses.
If they can't join another group, then a very harsh life awaits them, since it is almost impossible to raise offspring alone.
Other predators and the "king of beasts"
Lions tend to dominate other smaller felines. Cheetahs and leopards try to avoid larger predators, and carefully hide their offspring from them. Most of the cubs die precisely because of the attack of the lion.
Even the fact that smaller predators try not to compete for food doesn't always help.
Hyenas are always close to the lions, but they try to keep their distance. In the absence of aggression from scavengers, a graceful cat does not pay attention to them. However, attacks on hyenas are not uncommon.
The real danger to the lion is the Nile crocodiles. While attacking each other, both sides are seriously injured.
Disappearing species
In our time to see a lionBasically you can only in the zoo. However, even in the Middle Ages, graceful predators, in addition to Africa, lived in Iran, Europe and the Middle East. They could also be found in some regions of Russia.
Now many extinct subspecies of these felines are known, while some of them disappeared due to human fault even less than 100 years ago.
Lion populations are decreasing every year, only in the last two decades, these predators have decreased by 40%.
The main reasons for the decline are climate change, leading to loss of key habitats, disease, and human intervention.
Kind in zoos of a large graceful predator began since the 18th century. The main goal is to keep lions as a species, and also to show exotic animals to people.
The reproduction of the predator is carefully monitored here. At the same time, they try to maintain the purity of the subspecies. Animals here live longer, reach larger sizes and weights.
