African Lion
(Panthera leo krugeri)

Order: Carnivora
Family: Felidae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. leo

Gestation: 100-119 days
Range: Southern Sahara to South Africa, excluding the Congo rain forest belt. In rich grasslands.
Longevity: 12 to 16 years in the wild, 25 years in captivity
Weight: Males: between 330-550 pounds; Females: 265-400 pounds

Although African lions are not presently listed as endangered, there has been a great reduction in wild lion populations. The primary reason for this decrease in population is the growth of the human population. Poachers hunt lions for trophies, and because they pose a threat to humans and livestock. Expanding agricultural regions have also reduced lion habitat, in turn increasing the risk of inbreeding and the loss of genetic viability.

Lions are carnivores and are one of the largest of the big cats. Carnivores eat meat. In the wild their favorite prey might be a zebra, impala, giraffe, antelope or wildebeest and depend mostly on animals weighing 110-660 pounds. Females do most of the hunting, and males often eat first. Up to 40 pounds of meat can be consumed by an adult male at one meal. In hunting for their food, lions can run up to 37 mph and can leap up to 39 feet. They can also climb trees and have very keen eyesight and smell. Lions are mostly nocturnal (active at night) and therefore do most of their hunting at night. Generally, they rest all day. By late afternoon, they begin to get up, and hunt at night. Hunting, feeding and drinking can take only a few hours, and then lions go back to sleep again.

A family of lions is called a pride. Most lions live in prides of 1-4 adult males, several adult females, cubs and young adults. Females remain in their birth pride for their lifetimes unless pushed out due to overcrowding.

African Lions can make many sounds:

• Roar - heard usually after sundown for about 1 hour, after killing an animal, after eating and to mark their territory. Females often call their cubs by roaring. Lion roars can be heard up to 5.5 miles away.
• Grunt - used to maintain contact when the pride is moving
• Growl - an aggressive vocalization
• Cough - an aggressive vocalization

Lions are tawny in color, varying from silvery yellow to reddish brown with paler undersides (female belly yellowish to almost white); yellow to black mane. Faint, leopard like spots are generally found on the young which is sometimes kept into maturity. Males have thick mane around the head that extend down the chest between the forelegs and varies in color from blond to black, whereas females do not have manes. The large manes of the male protects their necks during fighting and helps to make them look larger and more impressive. Lions have massive shoulders and strong forelimbs, long, sharp claws, and short, powerful jaws. Males reach up to a shoulder height of 4 feet while females are smaller and reach a shoulder height of 3.5 feet.

Knoxville Zoo has three lions: one male, Hubert, and two females, Sylvan and Sekaye. Sylvan was imported from the Kapama Game Reserve in South Africa, Sekaye is from the Indianapolis Zoo, and Hubert is from Asheboro Zoo in North Carolina. They are all very important to the lion Species Survival Plan (SSP), and Knoxville Zoo has recommendations to breed both girls with Hubert.