How many years live the lions? We learn!

How many years live the lions? To understand this question, it is necessary to understand what this predator represents, in what conditions exists, and also on what factors the duration of his life depends.

King of beasts

The lion is a large mammal of the cat family. Everyone knows that this predator is called the king of animals. To understand why so called its ancient peoples, it is enough to see how this animal lies. The lion always keeps a mighty, and I want to say - royal, posture. A chic mane makes his appearance even more majestic.

The weight of the male is about 200 kilograms, in length it reaches 2.8 meters (by the way, as much as 90 centimeters fall on a beautiful tail). The lionesses are a bit smaller. Their weight is 140 kilograms, and the body length reaches 2.5 meters. In females, unlike males, there is no mane.

The lion can knock down a zebra weighing about three hundred kilograms with one blow of the paw (!). It is impossible not to say that the wild cats we are considering are good jumpers.

Habits and habits

Live and hunt the lions of the pack (another name is Pride). They feed on predators with zebras, giraffes, rodents, hares and antelopes, sometimes they eat carrion. In rare cases, lions attack buffaloes, elephants and rhinos. And they hunt, as a rule, and lions guard prey. It is not unusual for these wild cats to take food from small predators.

After the "meal" the lions rest in the shade or on the branches. Yes, yes, they perfectly climb trees! Thanks to their claws, they can climb to a height of about six meters. Let us note that the lions are still dormouse! The duration of their sleep is more than twenty hours a day. But even when the male is sleeping, he hears everything. Sensible sleep is necessary to keep the offspring and the lioness.

These predators can not drink for a long period, since they are quite satisfied with the liquid contained in the eaten animal. At a time, one such beast can eat up to forty kilograms of meat, then it will wait a week until the food is digested, and then you can again go hunting. Of course, in this situation, one does not have to be surprised to hear that lions can for a long time dispense with food.

Scientists came to the conclusion that the life expectancy of a lion in natural conditions is fifteen years, but this is not always the case. Unfortunately, many predators die much earlier.

In two years they have a period of puberty. Mating takes place all 12 months a year. Pregnancy of the female lasts 110 days. In one litter, two to five cubs are born. The female can breed every two years. It happens that the lioness does not admit the male to the cubs, because he is afraid for their life.

The first three months of their life, the lions are only with their mother, in the distance from the group. When a baby is born, it resembles a domestic cat in size. A reliable camouflage for babies is spotted wool. Young mothers very often unite, organizing a kind of nursery school, where they gather all their offspring. Having given the cubs under the supervision of one lioness, the other mothers can safely hunt, knowing that the kids are protected. Growing up a lion take with them to hunt, in order to teach you to track down prey, and then kill. In two or three years, the males are already growing mane. This is the time when the strongest expels the weaker of the pack. In five years, a lone lion tries to create his own pride.

Specifically about the age

So, the lion ... How long does this proud handsome man live? The duration of his life depends on many factors. For example, how many years live the lions in the wild? In the wild nature of these predators lies a host of dangers, but their main enemy is man. Because of the attacks of hyenas and poachers, and also because of unfavorable conditions, the lion's life expectancy under natural conditions is small - about eight years. But this time is enough to mature, and also leave offspring.

Note that the female lives for several years longer. Probably, due to the fact that they do not have to defend the territory in the fight against strangers.

Life in the reserves

How many years live the lions in the reserves? In this zone, life is longer, because animals are protected from poachers. Here predators live to fourteen years, which is almost twice as much as at large.

How many years live the lions in the zoo?

Almost all zoos for large cats have created ideal conditions (if we talk about safety). In such places, lions live more than twenty years, being under the strict attention of workers and veterinarians. In Germany, he was a lion-long-liver, he lived in the zoo until he was 29 years old.

So we became better acquainted with these noble animals. And if your child, after watching the cartoon about Simba again, will ask about the lifespan of these representatives of the cat family, you can surely tell the kid how many lions live in the wild, in the zoo and the reserve.