Leo has always been respected by people. In ancient Egypt, the god of the earth, as well as the guardian of the other world, Aker was depicted as a lion. The king of beasts personifies power, strength, power. This animal is depicted on the arms of many states, such as Belgium, Austria, Great Britain, Norway, Sri Lanka.
Growth of an adult African lion can reach 1 meter, and weight – 200 kg. The lioness is slightly smaller and more graceful, its mass does not exceed 140 kg.
The lion is the only one in the cat family who has a mane. It happens only at the male and begins to grow at about 2 years. A five-year-old beast has a mane up to 24 cm long. However, this depends on the region where the animal lives and individual features. It is believed that the mane softens the paws of rivals during fights.
Lions give preference to open spaces, where a large number of reservoirs and hoofed mammals live. The lion is often called the “master of the shroud”, but for the most part of his life, the stern ruler … does nothing! He rests in the shade of an acacia, occasionally examining his territory.
The king of beasts entrusts the hunting obligations to several queens and waits patiently for them to “cook him dinner.” He approaches the killed prey first and chooses the best pieces. Remains are shared by adult females, then it is the turn of the young and, finally, the cubs. The male proceeds to hunt only exhausted by hunger. In a drought, when the game is very small, he does not hesitate even to take away the carrion from the hyenas. However, lions jealously protect their offspring from the encroachments of other lions.
In general, lions feed on zebras, warthogs, antelopes, even small hippo and rhinoceros. When large ungulates migrate to drought, this predator hunts rodents, birds, snakes. To get enough, an adult lion needs 7 kg of meat per day.
When night falls, the shroud shudders at the lion’s cry, which is heard within a radius of 9 km! This sound alerts the rest of the animals to the presence of the king of beasts.
There are cases when the king of animals does not disdain and human meat. At the end of the 20th century, a pair of lions – Ghost and Darkness – devoured 38 workers who built the railway between Uganda and Kenya. An unarmed person is easy prey for a predator, but unusual and therefore frightening. A lion can attack a person only if he is very hungry or has already tried human meat at least once.
