Lion Facts for Kids

Panthera leo · PAN-ther-uh LEE-oh

The only big cat that lives in a family group, called a pride.

🏃 speed: not yet checked
⚖️ 414 lb188 kg1
📏 8.5 to 11 ft2.6 to 3.5 m1 long
🎂 16 years16 years2
🍽️ meat
Needs help (Vulnerable)

Lions live in families called prides. The big males have a shaggy mane. Lions sleep a lot in the daytime.

A pride is a family of lionesses, their cubs, and one or a few males. The lionesses usually hunt together, working as a team. A lion's roar is so loud it can be heard far across the grassland.

Lions are the most social of the big cats. The lionesses in a pride are usually related: mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts. A male's mane makes him look bigger and may show other lions he is healthy. Lions rest for most of the day and are busiest at dawn, dusk and night, when it is cooler.

How big is a lion?

🧒 our measuring child, 4 ft1.2 m🦁 Lion, 10 ft3.1 m long

Lion in numbers

Length	8.5 to 11 ft2.6 to 3.5 m1nose to tail tip: males: head and body 1.7 to 2.5 m plus a tail of 0.9 to 1 m
Height at the shoulder	3.5 to 4 ft1.1 to 1.2 m2
Weight	414 lb188 kg1males, average
Top speed	no checked number yet
How long it lives	16 years16 years2up to; in the wild
What it eats	zebras, wildebeest, buffalo and other grazing animals
Where it lives	the savannas of Africa, and one forest in India
What kind	Mammals
Is it in danger?	Needs help (Vulnerable)3

A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.

Wow!

Lion cubs are born with spots, which fade as they grow.
A lion's roar can be heard far away across the grassland.
Lionesses in a pride often look after each other's cubs.

Compare the lion

Friends and neighbours

Three questions

What does the lion eat?

FishMeatPlants and animals

The answer: Meat. It eats zebras, wildebeest, buffalo and other grazing animals.

Where does the lion live?

ForestFarmSavanna

The answer: Savanna. It lives in the savannas of Africa, and one forest in India.

Which is longer, the lion or the blue whale?

The lionThe blue whaleThey're the same

The answer: The blue whale. Look at them side by side on the compare stage.

Books about the lion, free at the library

Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the lion for free.

Where these numbers come from

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Register 2015 (Listing Two Lion Subspecies), checked 30 October 2026.
Smithsonian's National Zoo, Lion, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
Wikidata, Lion (Q140), checked 30 October 2026.