Lion facts for kids
Which animal is your favourite? How many of you have “lion” as your favourite animal? Well, the lion is known as “the king of the jungle.” The strength, power, and fearless attitude of the lion make it the king of the jungle.
The male lion is the only big cat having manes that give it an appearance like a “king.” There are many exciting lion facts for kids that you will get to know from this article.
Lion comes under the cat family and commonly known as big cats. Although lions are far strong and dominating as compared to cats, despite that, it is still a member of the cat family due to similar characteristics.
The lion is always a magnificent animal for the kids. Most of the kids show interest in knowing more about lions like where do lions live, what do lions eat, etc.
Here you can find out a lot of exciting lion facts for kids that will help you to solve queries of your little one related to lions.
Facts about the appearance of lions
We all have seen a lion, either on television, in books, or in a zoo. If you have seen this healthy animal on tv or in a zoo, it means you have seen it from far away.
You have a brief idea about the appearance of the lions, but here you will get to know more about appearance-related lion facts for kids.
A lion has a sturdy, muscular body with a deep chest and yellowish-brown in colour.
It has a round head with small disk-like ears, a short neck, and a tail having bushy hair at the end of the tail.
The male lion has a dense mane covered its head & neck. The length and colour of its fur vary depending on its age and hormonal changes.
The female lions are smaller in size as compared to male lions. The Female does not have a mane. That is why male and female lions can be identified easily, unlike other cat family members.
The young lions have spots on their fur but as they grow old spots disappear completely.
Facts about characteristic features of lions
Each animal species have different characteristic feature, and thus lions also have. The unique features of lions define everything about them i.e., where do lions live, what do lions eat, etc.
There are many interesting facts about their characteristic feature, such as
It is starting from the king of the jungle i.e., a male lion. It has a very distinctive feature having a long & dense mane.
Lions have a powerful muscular body having strengthened & flexible legs.
The male and female lion looks different not only in terms of appearance but also has a different weight.
The average weight of an adult male lion is about 350-420 pounds, whereas an adult female lion weighs up to 240-365 pounds.
Group of lions living together is known as “pride.” Pride has many members, including 1-4 male lions, several females, and their cubs.
A female lion gives birth to about 1-6 offspring. Female lions have a gestation period of 110 days.
Do you know where do? Lions live in their territory. Lion pride has a region of their own and it can be spread across 100 square miles.
Lions are predatory animals and capture the top level in the food chain.
Have you thought about what lions eat? Lions are carnivorous animals and they eat other animals for their survival.
As far as the life span of lions is concerned, it is about 10-14 years in wildlife and about 20-25 years in captivity.
Facts about the lion’s diet
What do lions eat? Lions are hyper carnivorous and they eat only meat of other animals. It depends on other animals to fulfil their requirement for food.
Although the lion is the king of the jungle but lioness has the skill to hunt. The female lions kill prey to fulfil the need of food for its pride.
For a full-grown lion it requires at least 7Kg of flesh per day for survival.
An adult female needs up to 5 kg of meat per day to survive.
You may be surprised to know that an adult male can consume up to 30 kg flesh at a time.
Do you know the types of animals lion eats? Lions mostly eat zebras, antelopes, wilder beast, young elephants & giraffes, etc.
Quite interesting lion facts for kids to astounding is that it eats prey at the place they killed it. However, sometimes lions pull its prey to some covered areas.
Lions pride if unable to consume all the prey at a single point of time, then 2 lions guard the hunted animal meat and within a few hours, they start eating it again.
Sometimes, lions also have to face opportunists i.e., scavenger such as vultures, hyenas, etc. They have to defend their food from these scavengers.
Some more fun & interesting facts about lion for kids
There are endless lion facts for kids to tell. Apart from the characteristic feature, appearance, where do lion live, what do lions eat, etc. there are many other interesting facts about this big cat. Some more fun facts about lion are as follows.
The lion is the second largest big cat after the tiger.
Although the lion is known as the king of the jungle, it does not live in a dense forest. Lion lives in grassland and plain territories.
The male lion does the patrolling of their territories and also takes care of the young cubs.
The cubs are quite playful. The cubs like to play with each other quite often.
Do you know that lions spend most of their time napping approximately 21 hours a day?
Lions are also very capable to run very fast. The speed of a lion while running can reach up to 81 kph, but it fails to do so due to short bursts due to lack of stamina.
It is quite an exciting lion fact for kids that the female lions stay together for life. Whereas, the male lions need to venture once they attain maturity stage.
Have you heard the roar of a lion either on television or in a zoo? The male lion roars the loudest amongst the cat species. A lions roar can be heard from far distances up to 5 miles distance.
Lions communicate with each other in pride, using various behaviours and expressions. When they are in a peaceful mood, they show it through licking & rubbing the head of each other.
Lions quite often communicate through making different sounds such as snarls, hissing, purrs, meows, etc.
The lion is known as a symbol of courage & strength. Due to these characteristics, it is considered as a national symbol of many countries such as Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Albania, England, Belgium, Singapore, etc.
