Their manes – the impressive fringe of long hair that encircles their heads. Only male lions have these.
Head and body are 1.4 – 2m and they weigh 120 to 191kg.
Lions are meat-eaters. Most of their diet is made up of antelopes, zebra and wildebeest, which they hunt for in groups, but they will eat almost any animal, from rodents to a rhino. They also scavenge, scaring off other predators (like hyenas) from their food and taking it for themselves.
Lions are found in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They are very adaptable and live in all kinds of different habitats. The only habitats you won’t find them in are tropical rainforest and the middle of the Sahara desert.
Nobody’s really sure how many there are, but they’re decreasing. There are likely to be between 29,000 and 47,000.
The main threats to lions are hunting (mostly when people hunt them to protect their families and livestock), loss of prey and habitat loss.
Lions are the only cats which live in large groups called ‘prides’.
Hear an African lion
Watch some lions in this video
from our friends at ARKive.