Lion Facts for Kids

A Picture of Lions
  • Name: Lion
  • Binomial Name: Panthera leo
  • Lifespan: 10 to 14 years
  • Diet: Carnivorous
  • Range: Africa
  • Length: Between 5 and 7 feet
  • Conservation Status: Vulnerable

21 Lion Facts for Kids

  1. Lions are large cats that are members of the Felidae family.
  2. The binomial name for a lion is Panthera leo.
  3. There are two living subspecies of lions, they are Panthera leo and Panthera leo melanochaita.
  4. Lions are hypercarnivores and considered to be an apex predator and a keystone predator.
  5. Lions in present day can be found only in Africa.
  6. Lions in the past could be found in Africa, Asia and Europe.
  7. A lion can run up to 50 miles per hour.
  8. A lion can leap up to 36 feet.
  9. A lion can sleep up to 20 hours a day.
  10. A male lion’s roar can be heard up to five miles away.
  11. A male lion is simply known as a lion.
  12. A female lion is known as a lioness.
  13. A baby lion is known as a cub, whelp or lionet.
  14. A group of lions that contains males, females and offspring is called a pride.
  15. A group of lions that only consists of males is called a coalition.
  16. In a pride, male lions guard the pride’s territory and its cubs. The females nurse the cubs and do the primary hunting.
  17. In 2014, the IUCN Red List estimated there are between 23,000 and 39,000 lions in the wild.
  18. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists lion’s conservation status as vulnerable.
  19. Between 1932 and 1947, a pride of lions known as the man-eaters of Njombe are estimated to have killed 1,500 people.
  20. The Tsavo Man-Eaters are the most famous man-eating lions because of the 1996 film The Ghost in the Darkness.
  21. The Tsavo Man-Eaters were two maneless male lions who were blamed for the deaths of 140 workers in Kenya.

Additional Resources on Lions

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