The lion hunts not very efficiently, so how does it survive?

When it comes to lions, the first thing that comes to mind is the African savannah and the king of the steppe. Their main living area is in the African savannah, which is also known as a paradise for wildlife. Not only is it rich in species, but it is also the most abundant in the world.

Carnivores living in this area never have to worry about what to eat. But have you ever thought that Africa has endless deserts and endless grasslands? It's hard to associate lions with deserts, but in fact, lions live in deserts, for example, in the Namibian Desert off the west coast of Namibia, Africa.

Because of the natural climate, it is dry all year round and there is very little rainfall. Looking around, there is yellow sand everywhere, not to mention fresh meat, even carrion, which some lions may not be able to eat. Many people may think that the lions living in this area should not live for many days.

The lions of the desert have lived here for centuries, that is, they are already hundreds of years old and could have lived much longer if it were not for human intervention. After centuries of living experience, they have adapted to the climate and environment here. It was hard, but they barely survived.

The Namibe Desert is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, and between these two different areas is the coastline, geographically known as the Skeleton Coast. The Skeleton Coast is a disaster for human ships, but for the lions of the desert, it is a blessed place for their lives. Because there are many seals living here, seals are mammals that live in the ocean.

Because their heads are a bit like our common dogs, hence the name. Seals are rich in fat and meat, making them the most important food for local lions**. When the animals in the ocean reach the shore, their actions become very clumsy, and the lions will be easier to hunt.

Lions not only eat seals, but sometimes they also stranded whales and become a feast for lions. After all, whales are so big that several lions can eat for a long time. In addition, some observers have witnessed lions hunting birds such as white-breasted cormorants on several occasions, which has led us to learn about another skill of lions, which is to prey on birds.

In the African savannah, lions prey on birds, which is very rare. For a long time, we thought it wouldn't catch birds. In the lion family, the lioness is in charge of hunting.

Lionesses are adept at using existing obstacles to hide themselves. When she finds and stalks her prey, she lowers her body as much as possible and cautiously dives into the grass, keeping an eye on her prey's movements. If all goes well, the lioness will suddenly jump up and attack.

Zoologists have found that lions prey mainly on small and medium-sized mammals and small large animals. Bison is the most popular food. But in the face of such monsters, the lioness seems to be powerless, and they often adopt the strategy of team fighting.

How does the lion deliver the fatal blow at the moment of catching its prey? The lion's teeth are thick and sharp, and they can bite through the thick, hard cowhide and separate the tough animal flesh.

Lions generally survive by swarming, and it is precisely because the efficiency of lion hunting is not high that they need to improve their survival rate by gathering in groups.

Although the efficiency is not high, they know how to fight in a team, several lionesses work together, and there are still a lot of prey on the prairie, and there is always ** to hunt.

It also survives by catching food, and although its own catching ability is not very strong, it can also catch some small animals to fill its stomach.

Lion hunting relies on teamwork and means that you get a long day of sleep and consume less energy, so a single meal can last a long time.

Lions hunt a wide range of prey, from small gazelles and baboons to large buffaloes and even hippos, but they prefer to prey on medium-sized ungulates such as zebras, impalas and other species of antelope. Sometimes lions will also fight wild boars and ostriches for their own ideas. In fact, lions eat any meat they can find, including carrion that they snatch from the thylacine's mouth by force or intimidation.

If you had to make a recipe for lions, it would probably include all mammals on the continent that can weigh more than 1 kg, as well as a variety of birds and some reptiles, such as turtles. And in the lion pack, the female lions are the main hunters. Although lions run at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, their prey is often faster than them.

When hunting, these big cats do not pay attention to the direction of the wind and often expose their scents to their prey; And because compared to their huge bodies and small hearts, lions lack the stamina to pursue long distances, and they are exhausted after only a short sprint. As a result, most of the time they have to go home empty-handed. In any case, the lions always carefully get close to the target when hunting, using all the barriers that can be used as a cover to hide themselves as much as possible, approaching the prey to a range of more than 30 meters, and then suddenly and quickly pounce on the target.

The lioness clings to her prey while running, then bites the prey's neck until it suffocates to death. At this time, the rest of the pack will rush to feast on a good meal, and in the melee, it is often the stronger male lion who gets the most and best meat, and the smaller cub who gets little or nothing at all. Female lions often hunt in groups, and the members of the lion pack disperse and form a fan around a group of prey, enclosing the prey object in the middle, and then approaching from all directions, waiting for the opportunity to find an unlucky guy when the encircled beast panics and rushes.

Perhaps because of the overly flamboyant mane that makes it easy for male lions to expose their targets, they rarely engage in hunting. However, it is clear that their hunting ability is still not to be underestimated, and it may be the hard claws and powerful canine teeth of male lions that are more effective against large prey such as large buffaloes and adult hippos. Naturally, in the order of feeding within the pack, the male lion has an undeniable priority, followed by the lioness, and the young lion cubs can only wait to pick up some scraps of flesh and bones.

Once the lion has filled its belly, it will find a nearby water source to replenish enough water, and then rest nearby for several days. If there is no water nearby, the lion can endure thirst for a longer period of time, because the flesh of fresh prey is already rich in water. An adult male lion can rest for a week after eating more than 34 kilograms of meat in one meal before hunting.

When there is plenty of prey, males and females spend only 2 to 3 hours a day hunting in the early morning, dusk, or night, and spend the rest of the day sleeping or even just sitting there doing nothing.

The big lion teaches and practices by himself.

Although lions can run at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour over short distances, they rarely take long distances in predation, and herbivores are usually chosen.

Quietly ambush in the nearby grass, or with the help of wild grass.

The cover slowly approached the herbivore, and then the female lion first ambushed, and then the male lion drove the prey into the ambush circle, when the prey came to the effective attack range, they roared, pounced, and took advantage of the moment when the poor fellows were in a daze, the front paws hugged the neck, opened the mouth and bitten, it is said that the lion can take the wildebeest with a bite.

The neck is bitten off. If the object of the food is calmer and does not hesitate to escape, then the lion will not be able to pounce once, and it is rare to pounce a second time. Larger animals are often attacked by three or five large lions, and few of the prey that are surrounded can escape.

In the past, it was believed that the male lion was the "parent" of the lion pack, and that predation was only the business of the female lions, and when the female lion caught food, she roared to notify the male to enjoy it. Now scientific research has proved that the leader of the lion pack is a female lion with a relatively high status. The lioness holds the right to stay with the members of the group.

In the hunt, the male lion not only participates, but also leads by example. But "King of Beasts."

There are also cowards in it.

And speculators, a small number of lions in the lion group with relatively large prey or with other lion groups to fight for territory, often on the side, when the victory or defeat is more clear before joining, there are also timid always hide behind not participate at all. For "cowards", some lions can tolerate it, while others are driven out of the lion group by lionesses and become undesirable vagabonds.

How lions hunt.

Because lions have a natural habit, that is, they live in groups in the African grassland, they have no natural predators, and if they gather in groups, they are invincible.

Lions do not have an advantage in terms of speed, and although they run at speeds of more than sixty kilometers per hour and sprint at high speeds, their prey tends to be faster than them, so they can only resort to group encirclement tactics. Lions have few natural predators in the grasslands.