How do lions hunt? Can they handle very large prey?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

The lion is a real personification of strength, dexterity and nobility, and therefore is rightfully called the "king of beasts." These majestic animals have an interesting social organization. Hunting is their only way to get food. How do lions hunt and will they be able to cope with such a large prey as an elephant?

Meet the Predator

Lion is a carnivorous mammal belonging to the cat family. The appearance of these beautiful creatures is very characteristic, and a distinctive feature of the species is pronounced sexual demorphism. Males are much larger than females and have an ornament in the form of a thick mane. In some subspecies, it is highly developed and partially covers the back, chest and shoulders. The predator's coat is colored in various shades of yellow-gray. The color of the mane usually matches the color of the rest of the hairline, but sometimes it can be darker.

The body length of lions reaches 2.5 m, and sometimes their weight exceeds 250 kg. The teeth of a big cat are quite large, their size is 8 cm. In total, there are 30 fangs in the lion's mouth. The second formidable weapon of this killing machine is the claws. Their length reaches 7 cm.

Life expectancy of representatives of this species in the wild is on average 10-14 years. In captivity, some individuals live up to 20 years. Males rarely manage to cross the 10-year mark due to the fact that fights for territory often end in the death of one of the rivals.

Social organization

The life of lions can be organized in two ways. The most common option is pride. Most often, it consists of several females who are relatives, offspring of both sexes and a male. In some cases, a pride can have from 2 to 4 males. This situation is possible when the lions are brothers. Growing males are expelled from the pride when they reach sexual maturity.

The second type of organization is represented by wandering solitary individuals. Most often, they are young lions expelled from the pride, since the vast majority of males go through this stage of life. Sometimes they remain alone until the end. But there are times when wandering individuals join someone else's pride or establish their own.

How does an animal hunt?

How do lions and lionesses hunt? A distinctive feature of the hunting of these beautiful cats is the pursuit of one chosen prey by well-coordinated groups. Predators are strong, but they do not differ in special endurance. Therefore, lions try to get as close and imperceptibly as possible to a potential victim and develop high speed.only for a short distance.

Hunting often occurs at night, which greatly helps the lions, as the prey is poorly oriented in the dark. For the most part, hunting rests on the shoulders of females. Males take part only if the prey is too large. Several individuals surround the herd and pounce on the chosen victim. Females try to quickly grab the target with several powerful jumps. The caught animal dies most often from suffocation or fractures in the neck.

How do lions hunt alone? Such individuals are forced to get food on their own. Hunting in a group greatly increases the chances of success, as the actions of the lions are well coordinated. Therefore, single individuals are more often left without prey. Otherwise, they act like groups: they sneak up on the victim as close as possible and attack, trying to strangle her.

Do lions attack elephants?

Antelopes, zebras, warthogs and buffaloes are the most common prey for lions. But sometimes the majestic predator chooses a larger target.

How do lions hunt elephants? The adult "king of beasts" is extremely strong, but the elephant is much stronger. Wild cats are capable of taking down smaller prey with a single blow, and hunting in groups makes the task much easier. With elephants, everything is much more complicated.

Firstly, lions risk attacking an elephant only if they are very hungry, and there are simply no other victims. And secondly, they prefer to choose a young or sick animal that is not capable offight back like a he althy, adult elephant.

Interesting facts

These beautiful predators are striking not only for their grace and strength. Below are a few facts that may surprise you:

• The lion is the second largest living feline. It is second in size only to a tiger.
• An animal only goes hunting when it is hungry.
• Representatives of the species can sleep up to 20 hours a day.
• The predator is able to go without water for several months.
• In the last few decades, the population has declined by 50%.
• The porcupine is the real enemy of the lion.

Some wonder if tigers and lions have different ways of getting food. How do tigers hunt, and are their methods different from that of the “king of beasts”?

Since the tabby cat is a loner by nature, her hunting is noticeably different from that of a lion. Cases of attacks by tigers on prey in packs are rare. This is a lone hunter, accustomed to silently sneaking up to his goal. Having reduced the distance to 20 meters, the tiger swiftly attacks and tries to overturn the prey due to its own weight, grabbing it by the neck.