Lions are classified as obligated carnivores, which means they survive primarily on meat from large herbivores such as zebras, wildebeests, and buffalo.
Their diet relies heavily on animal tissue, with lions capable of consuming up to 15% of their body weight per meal. While male lions consume around 7 kg of food daily, females typically eat 4.5 kg.
However, lions’ food habits are more complex. They also need vitamins and minerals that are not available if they eat only the muscle of their prey. They also do not drink a lot of water, but they still need hydration.
Hunting strategies often involve coordinated group efforts to tackle larger prey, but they also scavenge, taking advantage of carcasses when hunting is challenging or prey is scarce.
Main Takeaways
- Obligated Carnivores: Lions depend primarily on meat from large herbivores, consuming a diet high in animal tissue.
- Dietary Complexity: In addition to muscle meat, lions need organ tissue and bones for essential vitamins and minerals (like calcium).
- Group Hunting & Feeding Hierarchy: Lionesses hunt for the pride, but males eat first, followed by females and cubs, reflecting a strict social order.
- Hydration from Prey: Lions consume little water directly, obtaining most of their hydration from the blood and tissues of their prey.
- Adaptability in Prey Selection: They typically hunt large animals but will scavenge or hunt smaller prey when needed, showing dietary flexibility.
- Scavenging Behavior: Opportunistic scavenging helps lions conserve energy and contributes to ecosystem health by aiding in nutrient recycling.
- Selective Prey Avoidance: Lions avoid certain dangerous animals, like adult elephants and rhinos, unless circumstances force them to take risks.
- Minimal Predation Threat: As apex predators, lions face limited threats from other animals, with competition mainly from hyenas and rival lions.
What Do Lions Eat?
Lions eat mainly meat from their prey, but their prey are often herbivores with intestines full of digested grass.
Lions can eat every part of their hunt, from the interior organs and moving to the muscles. Bones are generally chewed on for last.
The internal organs of their prey are an essential source of vitamins, and bones are crucial for ingesting important minerals like calcium.
This feeding habit helps lions with digestion and general health.
A Lion feeding only on lean muscle will slowly feel the effect of malnutrition.
Lions eat a diet primarily composed of meat, with over 70% of their intake derived from animal prey.
Male lions consume around 7 kg of food daily, while lionesses eat approximately 4.5 kg. However, both genders can consume up to 15% of their body weight in a single meal.
Lions usually eat every three to four days. Sometimes lions can stay without eating for longer and then eat a large meal at once
For this reason, lions can hunt even if they are not hungry.
What are the Lions Prey?
Lions target a diverse range of animals based on availability and opportunity. They prefer large herbivores such as zebras, wildebeests, and buffalo, typically choosing animals weighing 190 kg and 550 kg.
However, the types of prey available can vary considerably depending on the lions’ habitat. In regions where larger prey is scarce, lions demonstrate their opportunistic nature by hunting other animals, including smaller species such as birds, hares, and even fish.
Lions also engage in opportunistic scavenging, and sometimes, they hunt even when they are not hungry, resulting in increased competition for meat from other carnivores like hyenas.
How do Lions Hunt for Their Food?
Lions typically live in groups formed mainly by females and cubs; only 2 or 3 male lions are generally in a pride.
In the pride, lionesses are responsible for hunting, being more agile and fast than the males. However, once the prey is hunted, the males eat first.
Lions are not very fast, reaching a maximum speed of 60km/hr (40 miles/hr), and they do not have much stamina. For those reasons, they mostly try to stalk their prey before attempting to chase them. They must maximize their group effort, work together, and hunt with group tactics.
Once they have approached the prey and are close enough, they tend to bite the ankle if the prey is relatively small or jump on their back if the animal is bigger.
Solitary males can not hunt in groups. They usually try to stalk their prey and live in areas close to rivers or water courses where they know potential prey will come for drinking.
Social Eating Dynamics
Within a lion pride, the social eating dynamics are governed by a strict hierarchy that prioritizes the survival and strength of its dominant members.
Following a successful hunt, dominant male lions are the first to feed. This practice guarantees they maintain their strength and leadership status.
Once the dominant males have had their share, it is the turn of the female lions to eat.
Lastly, lion cubs are allowed to eat. They consume what remains after the adults have satisfied their needs. This hierarchy in feeding, while seemingly harsh, is critical to guaranteeing that the pride’s strongest members—those who provide protection and sustenance—are prioritized.
Nutritional Requirements
All-meat diets pose potential problems for lions and carnivores in general.
For example, an imbalanced calcium: phosphorus ratio leads to growth problems and metabolic bone disease. The body’s ratio is typically 2:1, which must be maintained in the diet, or at least very close to it.
All-meat diets are high in phosphorous and have little calcium, creating potential health issues. Organs like the liver, kidney, and heart tend to have the worst Ca: P ratios, which may run as high as 1:44.
The gut contents of prey provide vitamins B and K. Vitamins A, E, and D are also provided by a source different from the muscle. They are found in the fat or other tissues in internal organs.
What About the Water Intake?
Lions have evolved to require minimal water intake, primarily obtaining moisture from their prey. The blood and tissues of their kills provide hydration, allowing lions to resist long periods without direct access to water. This physiological characteristic enables them to thrive in regions where water sources are scarce.
Despite their low reliance on water, lions prefer habitats near water sources because these places attract diverse prey animals.
Scavenging Behaviour
In the intricate balance of the savanna ecosystem, lions can use opportunistic scavenging to fulfil their dietary needs. This scavenging behaviour is a strategic adaptation and allows lions to feed on carcasses left by predators such as hyenas and cheetahs. Lions can conserve energy, especially when hunting becomes arduous or prey is in short supply, using scavenging behaviours.
Lions’ scavenging behaviour can have broader ecological implications. Consuming carcasses allows nutrient recycling and contributes to control of the potential spread of disease by removing decomposing animal remains.
Do Lions Eat Grass?
How can lions be healthy if they only survive on meat? Do they eat grass?
Yes, sometimes lions eat grass. However, they lack enzymes and digestive processes to break down regular grass, and often, grass ingestion causes vomit to help when they have an upset stomach.
What Animals do Lions not Eat?
There are certain animals that lions typically do not prey on due to the difficulty, risk, or rarity of such encounters. Some of these animals include:
- Adult Elephants: While young elephants are vulnerable, adult elephants can be lethal for lions, making them challenging prey. Lions sometimes may try to attack and kill ageing, sick elephants if they find the opportunity.
- Adult Rhinos: Attacking an adult rhino poses a significant risk for lions due to their size and aggressiveness.
- Adult Hippos: Though lions might occasionally take young hippos, fully-grown hippos are dangerous and will fiercely protect their young.
- Crocodiles: Confrontations between lions and crocodiles are not unusual, especially near water sources; however, it is rare for lions to prey on adult crocodiles.
- Large Predatory Birds: Lions don’t typically hunt birds like eagles or vultures.
- Hyenas: While there is great animosity between lions and hyenas, lions do not eat hyenas. They might kill them during confrontations but will often leave the carcass untouched.
- Aardvarks: These nocturnal animals are rarely encountered by lions.
- Mature Giraffes: Due to their height and strong legs, giraffes are not lions’ favourite prey due to the risk of lethal kicks. However, lions do sometimes hunt younger or weaker giraffes.
- Small Amphibians and Reptiles: Lions do not typically eat animals like frogs, lizards, and small snakes.
It’s important to note that while lions may not typically eat these animals, the dynamics can change based on environmental factors, the availability of other prey, and specific circumstances.
Sometimes, lions can also be scavengers and feed on left carcasses. This situation is especially true in periods of extended absence of suitable prey and for solitary males struggling to chase prey independently.
Do Lions have Predators?
As apex predators, lions are at the top of the food chain and typically do not have natural predators that hunt them for food. However, they face threats from other animals, primarily for food territory, dominance, or survival.
- Hyenas: While they don’t hunt lions for food, spotted hyenas are known to confront lions, often over carcasses. These confrontations can occasionally lead to fatalities on either side.
- Leopards: They don’t typically attack adult lions, but leopards can be dangerous for lion cubs if left without protection from the pride.
- Cheetahs: Like leopards, cheetahs don’t attack adult lions but could be dangerous to unattended cubs.
- Crocodiles: Crocodiles can be aggressive towards lions in areas where their habitats overlap, particularly near water sources. This is especially true if lions are trying to cross water or are attempting to hunt near water edges.
- Other Lions: One of the most significant threats to lions, especially cubs, is other lions. When a new male or group of males takes over a pride, they often kill young cubs to bring the lionesses back into estrus sooner and allow the dominant male’s genes to be passed on.
Conclusions
Lions are highly specialized apex predators whose survival hinges on a complex and well-balanced diet of animal tissue, particularly from large herbivores.
Their role as obligated carnivores means they rely on a diet that includes muscle meat, organs, and bones, which provide essential vitamins, minerals, and hydration critical to their health.
The lion’s unique feeding habits, including scavenging and occasional grass consumption, support its health and adaptability to challenging environments.
Lions’ hunting behaviours are influenced by social dynamics within prides. Cooperative hunting and a strict hierarchy in feeding order ensure that dominant members—mainly males—maintain their strength. Meanwhile, lionesses lead the hunting efforts with skill and agility, highlighting their critical role in sustaining the pride.
Environmental factors such as prey availability also affect their diet, pushing lions to adapt by hunting smaller animals or scavenging when necessary. Although lions generally avoid certain dangerous or challenging prey, such as adult elephants and rhinos, their opportunistic instincts and adaptability ensure they capitalize on diverse food sources to meet their nutritional needs.
