Big Cats: Notably The African Lion
Photograph by Chris Johns
National Geographic Facts:
Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides. Prides are family units that may include up to three males, a dozen or so females, and their young. All of a pride's lionesses are related, and female cubs typically stay with the group as they age. Young males eventually leave and establish their own prides by taking over a group headed by another male.
Only male lions boast manes, the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their heads. Males defend the pride's territory, which may include some 100 square miles (259 square kilometers) of grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands. These intimidating animals mark the area with urine, roar menacingly to warn intruders, and chase off animals that encroach on their turf.
Female lions are the pride's primary hunters. They often work together to prey upon antelopes, zebras, wildebeest, and other large animals of the open grasslands. Many of these animals are faster than lions, so teamwork pays off.
After the hunt, the group effort often degenerates to squabbling over the sharing of the kill, with cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. Young lions do not help to hunt until they are about a year old. Lions will hunt alone if the opportunity presents itself, and they also steal kills from hyenas or wild dogs.
Lions have been celebrated throughout history for their courage and strength. They once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. Today they are found only in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, except for one very small population of Asian lions that survives in India's Gir Forest.
Listverse.com (2012):
The tiger is slightly larger than, and just as fast as, the lion, but the lion just edged out the tiger because the lion is the only cat known to science that works as a team with other lions to hunt. This enables it to bring down prey far larger than itself. Lions are possibly the smartest of cats; the members of a pride will stealthily arrange themselves around a herd of prey animals, and when the ambushers are in position, they signal to the drivers with a cough or sneeze, whereupon the prey is driven into an ambush and several are brought down, saving the lions from a drawn-out chase.
Lions have been known to slash the tires of safari jeeps to immobilize them and the tourists inside. To ward them off, the guides play recordings of elephants trumpeting. Hunting them is still legal, but conservation makes it expensive (as it should), and only old specimens or man-eaters are taken. The two most infamous remain the Tsavo maneless man-eaters of 1898. From March to December, they killed and ate as many as 135 railway workers in Tsavo, Kenya. They were gigantic, even for lions, measuring 9 feet, 8 inches, and 9 feet, 6 inches long, and required 8 men to carry them. Their hunter, Col. John Patterson, shot the second no less than 8 times with a .303 Lee-Enfield, which has power comparable to the .30-06, before the lion succumbed.
Directory Journal (Info Blog):
Big cats such as lions and tigers will not usually attack the humans. But if they are very hungry and you are the only meat around, they can hunt you for food. Do not provoke the lion to attack and don’t show your fear. To avoid a heinous attack by a big cat, stare them in the eye and don’t look away. Don’t turn and run, you can’t overrun them in any case. If you have a coat, open it to appear larger as they are unlikely to attack a larger animal.Old lions and tigers are extremely dangerous as they can’t hunt antelopes and other “quick food” while people are perfect and defenseless victims. The only way to stop the old animal from hunting people is to kill it. The history knows the case when 2 old lions killed 28 people and injured over 100 more that were building the railroad from Mombasa and Nairobi. Big Cats are responsible for an estimated 150-200 fatalities a year.
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