Lions hunt large animals such as zebra and wildebeest.

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

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

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.

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

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

The Lion’s scientific name is Panthero Leo.

The name for a baby lion is a cub, whelp or lionet.

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

Lions used to be spread across most of Africa, but now are only found in sub-Saharan Africa. Lions have disappeared from 12 sub-Saharan countries in recent decades.

Lions run at a speed of up to 81km/h.

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.