I was thinking about people and the wild life in general, and the argument of people having to have somewhere to live, lets cut this land up and create homes for people, lets buy so many properties and make a living out of renting out homes and units. In Africa let’s keep having children then cry out to the world for donations for the starving and hungry and watch the suffering, in March 2020 it is reported there is 7.8 billion people in the world, and with killing for money and creed there is only 400,000 elephants and 3890 tigers in the world.
Through human needs we are cutting down forest clearing lands and polluting the seas, I was watching a wild life program which showed how the wild find it hard to survive in normal times half of the cubs born will die from dangers normally. A young lion can find itself in a pack of African Wild Dogs and without another lion can become exhausted and die.
Lions get tied in the heat of the day, yet they managed to pull down a large bull which eventually fought back and survived in this episode they managed to kill three donkeys since the donkeys do not have the survival instinct which makes you wander about the fear and pain these animals goes through when they are eaten alive, could you imagine what this animals go through just to survive some humans do it for pleasure to other people and animals enjoying the suffering it makes you wonder.
I came across an article which stated nearly all wild lions live in Africa below the Sahara Desert one small population exists around Gir Forest National Park in Western India, the lions in west and central Africa are more closely related to these Asiatic lions in India, than to those found in Southern and East Africa.
If you take the average male lion weighing 190kg which is almost 30 stone and females weighing 126kg almost 20 stone and their speed how terrifying would this be when you consider the weight and power behind them to hunt their prey. Lions will start off spotty as male lions grow impressive manes on them the older, they get. These manes grow up to 16cm long and are a sign of dominance. Also, the older they get the darker their manes as well as attracting female lions these manes are to protect them against injury during fights.
Lions will eat up to 40kg of meat in a single meal a quarter of their body weight, their tongues have sharp pointed rasps, called papillae, which are used to scrape meat of the bones, lions hunt during storms since the noise and wind make it harder for prey to see and hear them and do most of their hunting at night as their eyes have adapted to the dark and this gives them a huge advantage over their prey.
When hunting, lionesses have specific roles some play the role of centre and other the role of wing the wings chase the prey towards the centres.
Lions are the only known cat species where individuals roar together the young cubs joining in with their mews, this sequence usually lasts about 40 seconds a roar can be heard roughly 5 miles away often a roar is to mark their territory.
90% of lions have disappeared of their historical range.
Is a lion going to be a memory only?
In just three generations African lion numbers have declined by over 40%.
If you take the main threats of preemptive killings to protect people and livestock and decreasing natural prey and habitat due to expanding human settlements and therefore less available grazing.
When their natural prey is scarce, lions can cause grave losses to livestock an can destroy the income of local people, climate change is another increasing threat extreme weather may cause more droughts and delay the rains affecting lions prey also illegal wildlife trade when in recent years the demand for lion bone as a substitute for tiger bone in traditional Asian medicine has risen.
Lions are the only cats that live in groups , a group or pride can be up to 30 lions depending on how much food and water is available, female lions are the main hunters like domestic cats lions scent mark their territory, using their wee to create a border. The lion penis has barb like projection on it, which cause pain the lioness when the male with draw this is why the roll over and snarls and even sometimes swipe at the male, the pain and irrigation is what stimulating her to actually ovulate.
Lions stand between 3.5 and 4 feet tall at the shoulder, males grow to lengths of 10 feet and have a 2 to 3 foot tail, they weigh 330 to 550 pounds slightly smaller females grow to lengths of 9 feet and weigh between 265 and 395 pounds, their native habitat is from open plains to thick brush and dry thorn forest, except for a small population of the Indian lion which remains in the Gir Forest of northwest India.
Lions primarily eat large animals that weight from 100 to 1000 pounds such as Zebra and wildebeest, in times of shortage they also catch and eat a variety of smaller animals, from rodents to reptiles, lions also steal kills from hyenas, leopards and other predators and domestic livestock especially in areas like near villages.
Lions social structure comprise of as many as 40 individuals, including adults between the ages of 2 and 4 and cubs plus one or more resident males. Abundance of prey plays a significant role in the size of the lion pride. Females will usually stay in their mothers prides for life, young males are driven from their prides, lions will give birth to a litter every two years, 80% of lion cubs die within their first 2 years of their life span which is normally up to 16 years, males rarely live past 12 years of age.
So, when you consider how important it is to humans to just breed and take all they can, will the lion survive? I ask myself is this an animal of the past.
LIONS FACE MANY THREATS
SallyGilson 