August 10, World Lion Day: 10 things you don’t know

August 10 is World Lion Day, the big cat protagonist of a serious decline: in Africa in 20 years the number of lions has almost halved. Since the beginning of the last century we have lost 90% of the lion population that lived on the continent. Threatening them above all are poaching, the fact that lions are killed to protect livestock raised by humans, but also the disappearance of habitats and natural prey. The WWF is doing everything possible for the future of lions on this continent, protecting their habitat and corridors of movement, studying and monitoring the herds, but above all working with local communities in order to find the best solutions for a possible coexistence with this. big predator. And he decided to tell 10 things to know about this extraordinary animal, not just Africa. Most of the lions live in Africa, beyond the Sahara Desert, but there is also a small population of Asiatic lions that survive in India, in the Sasan-Gir National Park. The young are born spotted: at birth they have small spots on their fur, which will then disappear as they become adults. These spots are very important: thanks to them the cubs can hide better in the vegetation while the mother is hunting. The weight of the lions: the male lions can weigh up to 190 kilos and the females up to 130. This power and this weight are needed to them in order to hunt even very large prey and to better defend the herd. Each mane has a story: the older the lion, the thicker, darker and longer the manes become, a true symbol of power that females like so much. But the manes also serve to protect the lions during fights, from bites and scratches. Breeding of the young: the lion cubs are raised by a real team. The herd consists of an adult male, some related females, with their cubs, and other males who serve to protect the herd. Lion mothers raise their young all together and if a cub needs milk he can go to any female who has it. They can quench their thirst from the plants. Over time, these large carnivores have become accustomed to living in places with even very difficult conditions, such as the Kalhari desert. In these places, when they are hungry and particularly thirsty, they can quench their thirst with desert gourds.They are great eaters: in a single meal the lions can eat up to 40 kilos of meat, almost the equivalent to 1/4 of their own. body weight, their tongues are covered with pointed and sharp papillae, which serve to scrape the flesh off the bones.They hunt in storms: lions like to hunt at night, in the dark, because their eyes have adapted to see in the darkness and this gives them a competitive advantage over their prey. An interesting thing is that these felines do not disdain hunting during storms, because wind and noise take away their smells and noises, making hunting more effective.Lions are the only felines that roar in unison. The roar serves to socialize but also to mark the territory, because it can be heard up to 8 kilometers away. Even the little ones join in the roar of the pack, doing their best to be part of the choir.Unfortunately, since the beginning of the last century we have lost 90% of the lion population that lived in Africa.