African Lion

Habitat

Varied, from grasslands of East Africa to sands of the Kalahari Desert.

Wild Diet

Lions are carnivores, eating a variety of mammals inlcuding zebra, buffalo and deer.

Behaviour

Lions are one of the only cats to live in a family group. Called ‘prides’ these groups can have up to 30 lions living together. In the wild the females do all the hunting, whilst the males get first pick at the meal once it is brought back to the pride.

Breeding

2-5 cubs are born after a gestation period of 102-112 days.

Threats

African lions suffer due to illegal poaching, habitat destruction and human encroachment on their territory.

Conservation

The African lion has been given a ‘vulnerable’ status on the IUCN red list of threatened species, which has long been acknowledged as the most comprehensive list on the global conservation status of animal and plant species. A species declared as ‘vulnerable’ faces a high risk of extinction in the wild, within the next 100 years. At Newquay Zoo we offer a home for retired lions, most of whom have been part of conservation breeding programmes at other zoos. African lions suffer due to illegal poaching, habitat destruction and human encroachment on their territory.