African Lion » Panthera Leo » ‘Leeu’
Kalahari lion drinking at a waterhole, Kgalagadi
©South African Tourism
During the day they can also easily be seen loafing about under shade trees. Mostly ground dwelling, they sometimes climb trees to get away from marauding flies and catch the cool breezes.
Lions are highly social creatures that hunt cooperatively and form cohesive groups called prides, which is unusual for cats. The pride consists of two groups, one of four to 12 related females and their cubs, and a group of one to 6 males known as a coalition who mate with the adult females. The lionesses are the most close-knit and central part of the pride while the lions may be substituted every few years. Prides largely consist of about a dozen adults but are smaller in places like the Kalahari, and larger where prey is abundant. The pride may split up into smaller groups roaming freely for a few days or a couple of weeks. Where game is plentiful prides are fiercely territorial but if prey is scant then their pride lands are far too large to defend.
Lionesses and cubs, Kruger National Park
©South African Tourism
Lionesses are more agile and faster than males and do most of the hunting. Males are much bigger and defend the pride and territory, ranking first in line to feed and grab the “lion’s share” of the kill. Next to dine are the lionesses and lastly the cubs with much scuffling, hissing and cuffing. By contrast lions at rest are blissfully peaceful and sprawl all over each other with lots of affectionate nuzzling, purring and licking.
White Lion, Timbavati
©South African Tourism
Lion mating behaviour is legendary with a couple frequently copulating (up to forty times a day!) and over several days. Occasionally the female may mate with other males in the pride resulting in cubs of the same litter having different fathers. The lioness’s gestation is between 100-120 days, and a litter ranges between 1-6 cubs. Pride females usually coordinate their reproductive cycles and collaborate in the raising and suckling of the cubs. Lion cubs are weaned at 6 months. Their mortality rate is high with only 20% of cubs reaching the age of two years.
Lionesses and cubs at a waterhole, Kgalagadi National Park
©South African Tourism
South African lions usually belong to the subspecies Panthera leo krugeri - Kruger National Park lion. In parts of the Northern Cape, Namibia and Botswana, male lions have spectacular black manes, belonging to the subspecies Panthera leo verneyi - Kalahari lion.
Panthera leo melanochaitus, the black-maned Cape Lion, became extinct in 1860. The Cape Lion once roamed around Cape Town and the Cape Province, the last one to be seen in the Cape was shot in 1858.
White lions:
Rare 'white lions' are born almost pure white without the usual camouflaging spots seen in lion cubs. Their unusual colour is due to a recessive gene that reduces pigmentation. As cubs mature their white coats progressively darken to ivory or blonde. A white lion is less camouflaged than the regular lion and has a disadvantage when it comes to hunting.
Status: Their population is diminishing and has been given vulnerable status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
When you’re most likely to spot lion: Lion are mostly nocturnal and start hunting from early evening when it cools down until early morning. They can often be seen lounging or snoozing under a shade tree during the heat of the day.
Where lions roam: At one time they ranged widely in a variety of habitats from desert fringes to open savanna and woodlands. They now occur only in game reserves and National Parks in southern Africa. 
Reproduction: Lionesses usually have litters of up to six cubs and give birth under cover, keeping cubs hidden and returning to the pride when cubs are one or two months old and only if there are no cubs older than 3 months already present. Lion cubs suckle from different mothers and older cubs would prevent the younger cubs from suckling. Cubs stay with their mothers for at least two years.