Lion

A lion is a large wild cat, Panthera leo, native mainly to sub-Saharan Africa with one small population in India. It is listed Vulnerable, not Endangered, on the IUCN Red List (2023). Lions are not domesticated animals. They live in social groups called prides.

Males often grow a mane. Lionesses do most of the cooperative hunting. A baby is a cub. Allied males are a coalition.

This page is the species encyclopaedia. Tiger comparison: lion vs tiger. WARN's appeal: lion appeal.

WARN funds partners in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. It does not run a safari park and does not place cubs in UK homes.

Not as a whole-species IUCN category. Lions are Vulnerable — one step below Endangered — under a 2023 assessment that also records a large range loss. West and Central African populations and the small Asiatic population face higher local risk.

Vulnerable is still a threatened category. It does not mean "safe". It does not mean Extinct in the Wild.

CITES lists African populations on Appendix II and the Indian population on Appendix I.

This page will not pretend a UK gift upgrades the Red List overnight.

The 2023 IUCN assessment estimates roughly 23,000 mature and subadult lions in Africa, plus about 670 in India. The total is decreasing. Lions have vanished from most of their historic range across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Round numbers are estimates, not a named-pride register.

Round numbers are estimates. They are not a named-pride register.

WARN does not publish a weekly census. Field work is snares, conflict and prey — lion appeal.

Do not mix this figure with the tiger's "few thousand" global total. Different species, different continents.

Wild lions live mainly in savanna, grassland and open woodland of eastern and southern Africa, including strongholds in Kenya and Tanzania. A separate Asiatic population survives in and around Gir Forest, Gujarat, India. They are gone from most of North Africa and the Middle East.

WARN's funded geography is Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa. Gir is education on this page, not a WARN grant country for lions.

Most remaining lions live in or around protected areas. Corridor loss isolates prides.

Country context: Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa.

Lions live in prides — typically related females, their cubs, and a coalition of males. Other big cats are largely solitary. Cooperative hunting lets lionesses take zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Males mainly defend territory and cubs. Social does not mean tame.

Social does not mean tame. A pride is not a domestic pack.

Cubs are often raised with some communal care inside the pride. Incoming males may kill cubs sired by rivals — a grim but documented behaviour.

Tiger social life is different. See lion vs tiger.

Wild lions typically live about 10–14 years. Males often die younger because of fights and pride takeovers. Animals in managed care can live longer. This is not a pet lifespan, and it is not "10–14 years" as a size measurement.

Cubs are vulnerable to infanticide, starvation and snares. Many never reach adulthood.

Lifespan is biology. It is not an IUCN generation length to ignore while habitat shrinks.

WARN does not operate a UK lion collection.

Gestation is about 110 days — roughly three and a half months. Litters are typically one to four cubs. Females may breed again after cubs disperse or die. That calendar is faster than an elephant and slower than a domestic cat.

If you searched because of a cub-petting advert, that is a welfare problem, not a conservation method.

Speak to a veterinary specialist for captive-animal questions. This guide does not replace clinical advice.

Programme context: lion appeal.

Lions are carnivores. They hunt large herbivores such as zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. Lionesses do most cooperative hunting. Males scavenge and hunt too, especially on larger carcasses. They are not vegetarians and not domestic livestock. When wild prey is snared, livestock conflict rises.

When wild prey is snared or poached, lions kill cattle, and herders retaliate. Prey recovery is lion conservation.

Do not post meat from Britain to a partner. Give at lion appeal so partners buy locally.

A lion is not a hyena. Both may use the same carcass; they are different families.

Yes. Lions are wild predators. They can and do kill people and livestock. They are not domesticated animals, and they are not harmless "big cats" for cub petting. Honest risk is husbandry of livestock, fencing, walking at night in lion country, and captive handling — not a swapped pet-template answer.

Most lions still avoid people when prey and space exist. Conflict clusters on farm edges and in depleted landscapes.

This page will not rank safari parks. It will not advertise walking-with-lions.

If you asked after a livestock killing, the programme answer is coexistence kits and response teams at lion appeal, not a trophy hunt.

Lions are social, usually savanna-living, and Vulnerable. Tigers are solitary, usually forest-living, striped and Endangered. Male lions grow manes. Tigers do not. They are different species in the same genus, Panthera. A liger is a captive hybrid, not a wild recovery tool.

A liger is a captive hybrid, not a wild recovery tool.

Full comparison: lion vs tiger. Tiger field geography for WARN is Indonesia and Malaysia. Lion field geography is Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.

Do not give to the wrong appeal by mixing the two cats.

Lionesses do most of the cooperative hunting. Males hunt too, especially larger prey, and they defend the pride's territory. The cartoon that males only sleep is false; the cartoon that males do all the hunting is also false. Pride takeovers by new males can kill cubs.

Pride takeovers by new males can kill cubs. That is why pride stability matters to numbers.

Hunting style is not a donation product. It is ecology.

See the threats section for why prey depletion hurts both sexes.

Fund partner-led snare response, conflict mitigation and sanctuary placement in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa rather than posting parcels or paying for cub petting. Give at lion appeal or donate lion conservation africa. Further sourced detail, including range, IUCN status and programme links, follows in the paragraphs below.

Do not invent a unit cost for one named pride. Appeal figures are illustrations.

US donors: WARN is not a 501(c)(3). Gir Forest is not a WARN lion grant.

If you want a UK zoo visit, stop here. If you want field grants, use the appeal URLs.