📸 PhotoWild lion ( Panthera leo ) Snyggve (also known as Bob Junior), son of C-Boy , laying on a lava rock in the Serengeti National Park . Standing on top of the lava rock allows the lion to have a clear vi
Photo: Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
African Lion
Panthera leo (African Lion · ライオン)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 📏 Length 2.8m — ~1.6× the height of a 1.75 m adult human
- ⚖️ Mass 150kg — ~2.1× the mass of a 70 kg adult human
- ⚡ Speed 58km/h — ~1.5× Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record average speed (37.6 km/h)
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The monarch of the savanna and the only felid to form family-centered social groups called 'prides' for cooperative hunting and territory defense.
🌐 Wikipedia Summary ExtractThe lion is a large cat of the genus Panthera, currently ranging only in Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult male lions are larger than females and have a prominent mane that extends from the head to the shoulders and chest.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
The male's lush mane serves as a shield protecting the neck and carotid artery during territorial fights, and its roar echoes up to 8 km away.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Lionesses hunt wildebeests, zebras, and buffaloes using organized encirclement tactics, while male lions defend the territory from hyenas and intruders.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is also familiar as a guardian symbol in traditional Korean culture, from the Silla-era Seokguram lion statues to the Bukcheong Lion Play (Bukcheong Sajanoreum).
📚 Sources & References
- • Wikipedia “Lion”
- • Wikidata Q140
- • IUCN Red List category VU — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • nationalzoo.si.edu — lion
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Gabriela Palomo-Munoz · CC BY 4.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.