What are Lions?
The lion is a wild terrestrial animal called the king of the forest. The lion is a strong animal with a strong body, a big head, a majestic mane, and two fierce eyes. Lions are predatory animals and eat only after hunting.
How Many Wild Lions In South Africa?
Globally-recognized as charismatic megafauna, lions are part of the African ‘Big Five’ along with leopards, rhinos, buffalo, and elephants. There are approximately 13,000 lions in South Africa but only around 2,300 are wild, the rest are in game reserves and in captivity.
Threats to survival
Today, there are only half as many African lions as there were 25 years ago. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that fewer than 25,000 lions remain in Africa, which is why the organization classifies them as vulnerable to extinction.
Lion prides and hunting
Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are called prides—though there is one population of solitary lions. Prides are family units that may comprise anywhere from two to 40 lions—including up to to three or four 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.
Habitat
African lions once roamed most of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. But the species has disappeared from 94 percent of its historic range and can only be found today in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. These lions mainly stick to the grasslands, scrub, or open woodlands where they can more easily hunt their prey, but they can live in most habitats aside from tropical rainforests and deserts.