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Predator: prey includes various gazelles, impalas, zebras, and wildebeests.
Lions are predatory carnivores that usually feed on hoofed mammals. They typically hunt in groups, but the actual killing is done by an individual lion, usually a female.
Lions are the only truly social cats, with related females residing together in prides led by one or acoalition of several adult males. Females are able to breed at four years, males at five. Females are the predominant care-givers to cubs, which are dependent upon adults until about 16 months old.
IUCN Red List Status: VULNERABLE
African Lions are large cats with short, tawny coats, and long tails ending in a black tuft. They are sexually dimorphic such that males tend to be larger, averaging 189 kg (416 lbs), compared to 126 kg (227 lbs) for females. Male lions are also distinguished by their manes which vary in color and tend to be fuller in more open habitats.
Lions live in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in desert and rainforest habitats. Optimal habitat for African Lions is savanna where there is sufficient cover to hide from potential prey.
Historically African Lions have been killed for sport. Today their habitat and natural prey is disappearingas more and more land is usurped for agriculture. As a result, lions are raiding domestic livestock, putting them in direct conflict with farmers and cattle ranchers.
