what does a lion eat?

Answer 1

"Lions eat large prey, such as gazelles, zebras, wildebeests, and buffalo. They have been known to take down prey as large as a young giraffe. When food becomes scarce, lions will hunt smaller prey or sometimes eat the kills of other animals."

Answer 2

Female lions usually hunt at night or dawn and in packs. Their prey consists mainly of larger mammals, with a preference for wildebeests, impalas, zebras, buffalos, giraffes, and warthogs. Notable exceptions to a lion's usual diet include buffalo bulls in their prime and very large, fully grown male giraffes. Many other species are hunted based on availability, mainly ungulates of a weight between 50 and 300 kg, like kudu, hartebeest, gemsbok and eland in Africa or nilgai, wild boars and several deer species in India. Occasionally they take relatively small species like Thomson's gazelles or springboks. Very large species such as the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros and the elephant are generally avoided due to the danger they present to lions or the effort required to capture them. In some areas, lions specialise on rather atypical prey-species; this is the case at the Savuti river, where they constantly prey on young elephants.It is reported that the lions, driven by extreme hunger, started taking down baby elephants, then moved on to adolescents and occasionally fully grown adults. Lions will even kill other predators such as leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. An adult female lion requires about 5 kg (11 lb) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15.4 lb).

Answer 3

Lions are predatory carnivores. They usually hunt in groups, but the actual killing is done by an individual lion. They frequently bring down prey much bigger than they are themselves. Showy males have more difficulty hunting than females because of their conspicuousness, therefore females in a pride do the majority of hunting. Males are still more aggressive during feeding than are females, even though they are less likely to have killed the prey. (Estes, 1993)

African lions eat the most common large ungulates in the area (Thompson's gazelles Eudorcas thomsonii, zebras Equus burchellii, impalas Aepyceros melampus, and wildebeests Connochaetes taurinus). Individual prides tend to have their own eating preferences. Some prides tend to target large prey such as cape buffalo Syncerus caffer and giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis. Lions that are not able to capture large prey will eat birds, rodents, fish, ostrich eggs, amphibians and reptiles. Lions also actively scavenge, taking cues from hyenas and vultures. (Alden et al., 1998; Estes, 1993)

In Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, local lions subsist on a diet comprized mainly of 7 species: zebras Equus burchellii, wildebeests Connochaetes taurinus, Thompson's gazelles Eudorcas thomsonii, buffalos Syncerus caffer, warthogs Phacochoerus aethiopicus, hartebeests Alcelaphus buselaphus, and topis Damaliscus lunatus provide 90% of their diet.

Hunting effectiveness is increased by hunting in groups. Serengeti research has shown that individual lions succeed in their hunting 17% of the time, whereas group hunts succeed 30% of the time. (Urban and West, 2002)

Answer 4

Female lions usually hunt at night or dawn and in packs. Their prey consists mainly of larger mammals, with a preference for wildebeests, impalas, zebras, buffalos, giraffes, and warthogs. Notable exceptions to a lion's usual diet include buffalo bulls in their prime and very large, fully grown male giraffes. Many other species are hunted based on availability, mainly ungulates of a weight between 50 and 300 kg, like kudu, hartebeest, gemsbok and eland in Africa or nilgai, wild boars and several deer species in India. Occasionally they take relatively small species like Thomson's gazelles or springboks. Very large species such as the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros and the elephant are generally avoided due to the danger they present to lions or the effort required to capture them. In some areas, lions specialise on rather atypical prey-species; this is the case at the Savuti river, where they constantly prey on young elephants. It is reported that the lions, driven by extreme hunger, started taking down baby elephants, then moved on to adolescents and occasionally fully grown adults. Lions will even kill other predators such as leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs. An adult female lion requires about 5 kg (11 lb) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15.4 lb).

Answer 5

Lions are Carnivores they eat meat.

Answer 6

I'm just going to add this to the brilliant answers above:

Lions also can be scavengers. Sometimes they even take the hyena's kill (the lion are known to scavenge more than the hyena). Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

The typical prey animal that is taken by lions is in the 250 pound (112.5 Kg.) range, but much larger game (Such as buffalo) is hunted when conditions permit. (In the SavutiNational Park in Botswana, adult elephants and hippos are occasionally taken.) Prey species more commonly taken include zebra, wildebeest, gazelles, antelope and waterbuck. Lions will also hunt smaller animals, when they are hungry and nothing bigger is available. Even crocodiles are occasionally hunted.

Lions are also expert scavengers, and obtain as much as 40 percent of their food by stealing it from other predators, or finding already dead animals.

Although they are the largest, lions are by no means the best hunters in their ecosystem. (Cheetahs are probably the best.) They do not do simple things that solitary predators tend to do, like keep the wind before them. Instead, lions survive because there is so much food available around them, and they tend to hunt in groups. Even their impact on prey populations is smaller than might be suspected. About one in fifteen of any given popular prey animal will become a lion meal in a given year. This isn't even enough to significantly control population growth! On average, a single lion will kill 15-20 large herbivores a year.

Hunting is done most frequently in the evening, or early morning. Much hunting is also done at night. The moonless part of the night is preferred for hunting. Less hunting is done during the day, due to the heat, and better chances of being spotted by the prey. Lions do hunt during the day, and their best statistical chance of a single animal making a kill is when they stumble across a lone prey animal who is caught by surprise.

Group hunting methods are ruthless and scientific. The younger members of a pride will often 'drive' a herd of prey animals towards the more experienced hunters who are waiting in ambush. Sometimes, one or more lions will wait in ambush at a waterhole, and jump on unsuspecting animals coming for a drink. In any case, the hunts are surprisingly well organized.

Once a lion has selected an animal to attack, it will sprint to it and attempt to grab hold of it. Lions are not endurance runners, and need to be fairly close to their faster quarries. Often several individuals will assist in making the kill. Making a kill is generally done in two stages: first, bring the animal down, then actaully kill it. In most cases, this process starts by a lion jumping onto the back of the selected prey animal, and working it's way towards the neck. It will use it's needle-sharp claws to hold onto the animal while doing this. Many animals who are sucessful in escaping being killed will undoubtedly later die from the severe lacerations inflicted by the sharp claws.

The most frequently used killing method is suffocation. A single lion will often get a good bite on it's victim's throat, and crush the windpipe. Especially when killing large prey, one lion of a group will clamp it's mouth over it's victim's nose and mouth while the other lions hold it down. It is not unusual for the other lions to open the abdomen and begin eating while the animal is still being suffocated. In fact, this often kills the animal faster than the suffocation does. (Interestingly enough, the victim rarely struggles after it is brought down. This is probably due to the shock of being caught, and suggests that they may not be suffering as much as you might be led to beleive. Some people also believe that lions are capable of 'projecting a thought' into the prey to help it suffer less.) Sometimes, a large group of hungry lions will so completely immobilize an animal that they just simply tear it apart. Although it may seem that lions sometimes try to 'humanely' dispatch their prey, the real reason they like fast kills is that they can start eating sooner.

A variety of other techniques are occasionally used to make the kill. A well-placed swat with their massive paws can also instantly immobilize an aninimal by doing considerable internal damage. Very small prey is killed by simply biting through it. A more spectacular killing method, often seen on nature shows, involves leaping on the prey's back and biting the back of the neck. The big canine teeth slip between the vertabrae and break the spinal cord. Death is immediate. A few observers have recorded lions hooking their paws around the neck in such a way as to immobilize the head while flipping the body over. This breaks the neck, and kills the prey, although few if any broken necks have actually been observed.

As soon as the prey is dead, a single lion will often drag it's catch to a less open spot. The abdomen is opened, and the meal usually starts with the entrails. Lions vary widely in their tastes, which tend to vary on a region by region basis. Almost all lions eat the heart, liver and kidneys. Some lions will often then bury the stomach and intestines, but frequently just make an attempt at doing this. Why they do this is unknown. Other lions will eat everything in the body cavity except the stomach, showing a strong preference for the intestines. The meal then proceeds with the hindquarters, which is the fleshiest part of the animal. The lions will then work forwards towards the head. It is also unusual for lions to open the skull. Individuals in a group of lions feeding will go for whatever they can get their teeth into, with the strongest individuals getting the best morsels. If the pride male is present, he will often (but not always) hog the kill for himself, until he is sated. The females eat next, and then, the cubs. In some locales, the males prefer the flesh and will start eating the hindquarters of a fresh kill while the females fight over the entrails.

Lions have poor table manners and will often fight over their food. But, when it's all over, they will lick each others' wounds. Imagine getting wounded just trying to eat dinner!

Unlike most other cats, lions prefer to eat crouching or lying down.

Just because a lion suceeds in making a kill dosen't always mean it gets to eat it. Frequently, other predators, especially hyenas, will pester a lion to the point where he will abandon a kill to them. Smaller predators aren't as sucessful, but often grab scraps when the lion isn't looking. This works in reverse, too. Often one or more lions will scare another predator off of it's kill.

Lions are scavengers, too. They will eat most anything they find dead. For many old males too old to run down live game, scavenging may be their only way to find food.

A lion will gorge itself, if possible, on a kill. An adult will typically eat 40 pounds (18 Kg.) of meat at a time, with reports of as much as 75 pounds (34 Kg.) consumed in one sitting. A single lion may take two or more meals from a kill over a 2-3 day period, while prides usually cannot get more than one meal for everybody after an average kill. After eating a large meal, lions will sleep for as long as 24 hours (what a life!). A good, full meal for a pride may result in four days of little activity, and no great desire to hunt until the sixth day.

Answer 8

Meat. Preferably raw. Usually antelope. They are carnivores.

Answer 9

raw meat

Answer 10

Hee anything he fancies, I guess!