Lions are right up there with my favourite animals, which is surprising as I’m not a massive fan of cats- perhaps there just aren’t enough life-threatening teeth on the house cat? In this not-so-romantic blog, we’re going to look at these furry beasts. This is why lions are awesome.
You have to know just how tempting it is to write “roarsome” lions, it’s taking all my willpower not to. These huge cats are the second largest cat on Earth- being slightly smaller than the Siberian Tiger.
And to kick off with a quick fact. The heaviest lion, in terms of weight, ever recorded was a lion called Simba (wonder where they got that name from?) who weighed 380 kilograms. I wouldn’t want him standing on my foot- well, more accurately, I wouldn’t want Simba standing close enough to me to stand on my foot.
fans of sleep
I’ve never been a great sleeper, but perhaps if I was a lion I would have more success. These beasts can sleep for up to 20 hours a day! Even the heaviest human sleepers don’t sleep that long.
The reason lions sleep for so long isn’t because they’re lazy, it’s to give them an edge over their prey. Their eyesight improves in dimmer light and they’ve got more energy than their prey which had been trotting around all day.
Their eyesight is so good they can even hunt in storms, which would make it difficult for their prey to hear, see or smell them coming.
On top of all this, lions are carnivores so their food takes a lot of effort and time to digest, and nobody enjoys walking around when they’ve got a full belly.
It’s actually the female lions- called lionesses- who do the majority of the hunting.
A lion can eat roughly 40kg of meat in a single serving and strangely don’t even bother to chew their food- they just swallow chunks of meat they tear off. I’m with them- chewing your food takes time that none of us really have.
the mane event
Male lions grow thick and luscious manes- it’s how you can easily tell them apart from the lionesses. As a lion gets older his mane will get darker and if a lion has a thick and dark mane- it means he is healthy, strong and not to be trifled with.
spotty
Baby lions- known as cubs- are actually spotty when they’re born. These spots make these young cubs look even more adorable! Don’t you just want to hug one? Sadly these spots fade slowly over time and have disappeared completely by the time they reach adulthood.
Cubs also have their eyes closed for up to 2 weeks after their born and even when their eyes do open they can’t see very well straight away. Because of this, lionesses keep their kids close and hidden for up to 6 weeks.
lions roar together
Lions are the only cat species who roar together- even the cubs join in with the group roaring. They roar to mostly mark their territory- so a “guess who lives here now punks” sort of thing.
I should have mentioned this earlier- but a group of lions is called a pride.
The pride roar is so loud it can be heard up to 5 miles away.
Tree climbers
A little-known fact about lions is that they can actually climb trees. They might not do it very often but it’s a useful skill to have in your arsenal.
Their reasons for tree climbing could be to get a better look at prey, a place of safety from heavy rain or protection from the sun. Imagine sitting in a tree and looking across the branches to see a lion staring at you.
Just so you know, lions would hunt us, humans, down if they were given the chance- but only if food is hard to come by.
who needs a bouncy castle?
Lions can actually jump a distance of 36 feet. That’s almost 11 metres! I reckon they don’t need a bouncy castle.
Sadly we have less than 40,000 lions left on Earth. Thanks to poaching and loss of habitat these beautiful animals are in danger. So let’s do our bit and keep lions- and other animals on this planet- safe from harm.
And that is just a whirlwind tour about why lions are awesome. I hope you enjoyed them.
what to read next
If you’ve enjoyed this not-so-romantic blog then here are some suggested posts I think you should read next.