Lion Varieties

The two main types of lion are the African and Asiatic varieties. Although closely related, the two types have a number of differences that help to distinguish them from one another. Five other subspecies of the African lion may exist based mainly on range, but are not confirmed scientifically, as is the Asiatic lion.

  1. Description

    • At first glance it is hard to tell an Asiatic from and African lion. Both are large, muscular cats with tawny colored coats, pale underbellies and long, black-tipped tails. Male lions grow to between 7.8 and 11 feet in length, nose to tail, and weigh up to 550 pounds. Females are smaller and grow to between 6.8 to 9 feet in length and weigh up to 400 pounds. Asiatic lions, on average, are smaller than African lions. The manes on African male lions tend to be thicker.

    Habitat and Range

    • African lions live in the open grassland savannas of subsaharan Africa in countries like Angola, Congo, Somalia and Senegal. It is a species of concern with an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 individuals left in the wild and living mainly in protected reserves. The Asiatic lion is found only in small areas in northwest India's Gir forest. It is critically endangered, with an estimated wild population of between 200 and 260 individuals living on one protected reserve.

    Diet

    • The African and Asiatic lions both live in family groups and use cooperative hunting to bring down large game animals. In Africa, animals such as zebra, gazelle and wildebeest are common food sources as well as a range of smaller mammals, birds, fish and reptiles. Asia's lions hunt antelope and deer species such as nilgai, sambhar and chital as well as smaller animals much like the African. The females do most of the hunting for the group with males only hunting if they are solitary.

    Life Cycle

    • A single male or a small coalition of males generally controls a group of females in a family group known as a pride. The male protects the group from other males and has the right to mate with all the females. Breeding can happen year-round with females capable of producing cubs once every two years. If cubs die the female can breed again sooner. Pregnancies last between three and four months and produce litters of one to six offspring. If a new male takes over a pride it kills any cubs from the former male. In the wild, both types of lion can live for between 16 to 18 years.