Habits and Lifestyle

Male lions of Asian/North African clade are solitary or associate with up to three males forming a loose pride. Pairs of males rest, hunt and feed together, and mark territories at the same sites. Females associate with up to 12 females forming a stronger pride together with their cubs. Most hunting often takes place at dusk. Apart from that, lions spend much of their time resting. They rest in order to save energy, in the absence of prey, or to escape the midday heat. Lions have a large repertoire of vocalizations. Most of them are variations of growling, snarling, meowing, and roaring. Other sounds produced include purring, puffing, bleating, and humming. Roaring is used for advertising their presence. Lions most often roar at night, a sound that can be heard from a distance of 8 km (5 mi).

Mating Habits

Little is known about the reproductive behavior of West African Lions. In general, lions have a polygynous mating system, in which one male can mate with a number of females. They breed throughout the year with the peak period, occurring during the rainy season. The gestation period lasts from 110 to 119 days, yielding 3-6 cubs on average. The female gives birth in a hidden, solitary nursery. Reaching the age of 4-6 weeks, the cubs join the pride. Usually, all females of the pride feed and care for the young; when a mother female leaves the pride to hunt, another lactating female will feed her cubs. Weaning occurs at the age of 6-7 months, though the cubs typically stay close to their mother during the first two years of their lives. Males become reproductively mature at 5 years old while females reach maturity earlier, at 2.5-3 years of age.