A lioness suffocates the Wildebeeste she has just caught in the Serengeti
The lion (Panthera leo) is one of the big cats in the genus Panthera & a member of the family Felidae. The common term African lion collectively denotes the several subspecies in Africa. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in sub-Saharan Africa & in India (an endangered population lives in Gir Forest National Park). In ancient historic times, their range was in most of Africa, including the North, & across Eurasia from Greece & S-E Europe to India. The lion is classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, having seen a major population decline in its African range of 30–50% per two decades during the second half of the twentieth century. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves & national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss & conflicts with humans are the greatest causes of concern. Within Africa, the West African lion population is particularly endangered. They typically inhabit savanna & grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females & offspring & a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex & keystone predators, although they are also expert scavengers, obtaining over 50% of their food by scavenging as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have. Sleeping mainly during the day, lions are active primarily at night (nocturnal), although sometimes at twilight. The Masai lion or East African lion (Panthera leo nubica syn. Panthera leo massaica) is a lion subspecies that is found in eastern Africa. The subspecies includes previously recognized subspecies like massaica, which was initially described from the Tanganyika Territory in Eastern Africa (now Tanzania, containing the Serengeti)
Size: 4212px × 3159px
Location: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, cat, eating, feeding, gnu, hunt, kill, lion, lioness, predator, prey, rocks, safari, savannah, serengeti, tanzania, wildebeeste
