The lion is often called the king of animals or the king of the jungle due to its domination of whatever habitat it is in. The lion is an apex predator meaning that any habitat it is in, it is at the top of the food chain. Lions once roamed freely through most of the world with species found in Africa, North America, and Eurasia. Today though they can only really be found in Africa and a small part of India. Their numbers have dwindled and continue to do so. Ten years ago there were 50,000 lions in the wild, today the number is closer to 15,000. The animal that was once the king of the world, is now in danger.
The lion is regarded as a terrible beast but in reality, only kills around 20 times a year. Its main prey is hoofed animals like zebra, wildebeests, antelope, impalas, and others. The lion is an incredible hunter. It will stalk its prey until it is in range and then strike by biting the neck.
Many apex predators are not social animals but the lion is. The lion is the only cat that lives in large social groups (although try telling that to my neighbor who owns about eight cats), shares its territory and hunts together. While the lion is pretty fearsome it is the lioness that does all of the hunting and leads the pride. When a male joins a pride he will drive away any other males and kill any cubs that are not his.
Lions are up to eight feet tall and weigh up to 550 pounds. These beautiful beasts are not to be toyed with. Although the social animals will raise their cubs as a pride and be very playful, if an outsider enters into their territory, it will all turn ugly pretty quickly. While we should respect the lion we now need to do our bit to save it. Otherwise this majestic create will become extinct.
