With only around 20,000 left in the wild, lions are now officially classified as ‘vulnerable’.

An adult male’s roar can be heard up to 8km away.

Numbers of wild lions in Africa have gone down by over 40% in the last three generations, due to loss of living space and conflict with people.

Lions hunt large animals such as zebra and wildebeest.

Lions run at a speed of up to 81km/h.

A female lion needs 5kg of meat a day. A male needs 7kg or more a day.

Female lions reach two-thirds of their adult size by the time they are two years old.

Female lions do 85-90% of the hunting, whilst the males patrol the territory and protect the pride.

Lions are the most sociable of all big cats. They live in groups of 10-15 lions, known as prides.

In the wild, lions live for an average of 12 years and up to 16 years. They live up to 25 years in captivity.

The Lion’s scientific name is Panthero Leo.

Although known as the ‘king of the jungle’, most lions live on open grasslands or savannah. Only one group of wild forest-dwelling lions remains in the Gir Forest in India.