Big Cats 24/7: Fun Facts About Lions

In Season 1 of “Big Cats 24/7” on PBS, we met the incredible Xudum Pride and its larger-than-life characters. Dominant males Big Toe and Madumo were taking good care of their family, including lionesses like Magogo and Tsebe and cubs like Mathata. 

Now, in Season 2, there are new challenges and adventures on the horizon — which means more to learn about these incredible cats. Fascinate your friends with fun feline facts, courtesy of the Xudum Pride!

Lions Are the Only Cats That Live in Prides

A lion pride is a family unit consisting of related males and related females. While all adults are active in defending the pride, lionesses are the primary hunters.

As the family gets bigger, it may temporarily split into sub-groups, all staying within the pride’s territory. This is known as a fission-fusion system, and you’ll see it starting in Season 2 — especially because the Xudum Pride is believed to be the biggest in the world.

Dominant Males Head the Pride and Defend It From Intruders

The life of a lion king isn’t as glamorous as you might think. In reality, very few male lions survive to the age of 12, and they’re only in their prime between five and seven years old. Male lions generally find their first pride at the age of four and stay there for two to three years. After that, they’re frequently evicted by younger males — and they don’t often find another pride to lead for the rest of their lives.

Is life inside the pride any easier? Not necessarily. Many males don’t stay in power long enough to father cubs. While successful males may have as many as 41 kids across their lifetime, 13% produce just a single surviving cub. 

It doesn’t help that there’s the constant threat of intruding males. If these uninvited guests overthrow the dominant males in a pride, they’ll kill all the cubs so they can father their own with the lionesses.

Unlike Male Lions, There Is No “Alpha” Lioness Within a Pride

Lionesses are egalitarian, which means there’s no alpha female. Instead, they all work together to hunt, protect the pride and raise the cubs. They may even synchronize to give birth to their litters at the same time — that way, all the kids are about the same age. These cubs feed from their “aunts” in addition to their mothers, a characteristic that is unique to lions.

Older lionesses like Magogo may not be in charge, but they have valuable experience as hunters and mothers, helping show the younger ladies how to run the pride. This ensures that there are always plenty of skilled lionesses, who do the majority of the hunting.

Cubs Begin Eating Meat at Just Two or Three Months Old

Lionesses give birth in a den and keep the cubs separated from the pride for 6-8 weeks. After that, they introduce the new kids to the rest of the pride.

These hungry little furballs start eating meat at two or three months old, but they aren’t weaned off milk until eight months. This is a dangerous time in their lives; half of lion cubs don’t survive to a year old.

If they’re lucky, they’ll live long enough to start helping the lionesses hunt (or at least try!). The cubs will stick around until they’re about two and a half years old, and then males may leave or be driven off and females may stay.

Young Male Lions Are Pushed Out of the Pride at 2-4 Years Old

Although lion families are tight-knit, it’s bad luck for the boys. 

Dominant males push their sons out between two and four years old. Brothers often stick together and form coalitions, just like Madumo and Big Toe. This gives them a better chance at surviving against other males, getting enough to eat and maybe even finding a new pride at around four years old. If they can overthrow the dominant male or males of an existing pride, they essentially “take over” and make the family their own. 

Lions Primarily Hunt at Night

Nighttime is perfect for a lion hunt. These big cats would usually rather scavenge a meal than kill one of their own, but when they’re hungry, they’ll hunt in groups of eight or more. 

Lionesses do most of the work, with occasional help from dominant males for bigger prey — but the kings of the savannah will sometimes dominate a kill and refuse to share. That’s even worse when you learn that most lion hunts actually end in failure.

While lionesses take on the bulk of the work of hunting and providing for the pride, dominant male lions are no slouches. Male lions will hunt and take down prey on their own while they’re separated from the pride, like when they’re patrolling their territory. 

A Lion’s Roar Can Be Heard 5 Miles Away

A lion’s roar is often used as a territorial display. They can also distinguish between the voices of friends and foes, helping communicate with and locate pride members or prepare for a potential attack. 

But if you can’t tell the difference between the voices in the Xudum Pride, don’t worry — lions also have unique spot patterns above their whiskers, which you can use to identify them.

Bonus Fact: Are Lions Really "King" of the Jungle?

See Your Favorite Lions in Action

The Xudum Pride is back and bigger than ever. Get ready to see more feasting, fighting and surviving in Season 2, where new foes and unfamiliar challenges await.

Catch up on Season 1 of “Big Cats 24/7” on PBS, and catch the Season 2 premiere on September 10! And want to learn more facts about the fascinating lives of lions? Check out our lion fact sheet!