The lion is a wild animal, a strong and agile predator that lives in the savannahs of Africa. A small group of these mammals also lives in Asia. Lions live in families, along with several lionesses and cubs. In the pride, females are engaged in hunting, and the main male ensures the safety of his wards, protecting everyone from lone aliens who have arrived.
Lions are predators, therefore the basis of their diet is meat, and it is not easy to feed the lion pride, since the animal needs to eat up to 8 kg of meat per day. Lionesses are selected for hunting in the evenings or at night, acting as a group, which greatly facilitates the task.
In the article, we consider what lions eat, whom they decide to attack in the wild, and which animals are bypassed to avoid injuries and death. We’ll tell you how the lion hunt goes, we’ll follow the ritual and sequence of eating prey.
How lions hunt
If the lion lives in pride, along with the lionesses, then only females go hunting because the lion is too heavy and clumsy. However, if the male has not yet acquired a family or a stronger leader has kicked him out of the pride, then he has to get his own food. What does a lion eat? It is much harder for him to get food than dexterous and fast lionesses, so he does not shun either carrion or small animals, since it is difficult to defeat a large antelope or buffalo.
Everything is much simpler for a lion with a family. Females hunt in groups of several individuals, surrounding a herd of zebras or a lagging animal. They attack from several sides at once, grabbing the victim’s neck with huge fangs. Prey cannot breathe and soon dies of suffocation.
However, in the wild it is much easier to catch prey than to keep it, because the smell of fresh meat immediately gathers parasites who want to feast on. Pride is easier to drive away annoying hyenas or leopards than a lone lion. Therefore, you need to eat prey quickly, while there is such an opportunity.
What do lions eat?
The main food of lions are large animals, for example, wildebeests, zebras or warthogs. However, a hungry lion is able to eat an already dead and decayed animal, take prey from hyenas or leopards, and attack livestock. If the lionesses caught the prey, then the male is the first to approach the carcass, then the females eat it and at the end the calves are saturated with residues.
If a lone lion independently caught prey, then he is unlikely to be able to calmly eat everything to the end. Other savannah predators also love the fact that lions eat, so at one time the lion tries to eat its fill, eating up to 30 kg of meat at once. The second time you come to the carcass he will not give rivals. But in the pride to protect mining more opportunities, so you can stretch the "lunch" a couple of times.
