10 ROARING LION FACTS

A MALE lion weighs about 500lb and grows to eight feet in length.

A LION can run for short distances at 50mph and leap as far as 36ft.

ON AVERAGE, wild lions live for 12 years. A good gauge of a male lion’s age is the darkness of his mane. The darker the mane, the older the lion.

A MALE lion’s roar can be heard from up to five miles away — it has the loudest roar of any big-cat species.

A MALE lion can mate up to 100 times a day in a process that lasts only about 17 seconds.

LION society is matriarchal and female lions live together in prides for life.

A TYPICAL lion pride has about 15 members, and a pride’s territory can stretch to 100 square miles.

LIONS do not need to drink every day, but require ten to 15lb of meat a day on average. At a large kill, a lion can eat up to 66lb of meat.

LIONS are mainly, but not always, nocturnal predators. Females hunt co-operatively while males hunt alone.

MALE lions commit infanticide, killing cubs sired by a rival male. The female will attempt to defend her cubs viciously.