Like all other wild animals, lions also face dangers against other animals. Despite their strength and predatorial skills, they can still get into trouble with animals stronger and faster than them. For this reason, you may wonder how these animals live longer in their habitat. Thus, you may ask:
How do lions survive? Lions survive in their habitat through many things, but most of it is because of their tools. For instance, their bodies and most of the parts serve a purpose in keeping them alive. Moreover, they can live for days without food, and they can successfully hunt if they starve.
Lions have bodies designed to withstand the dangers they face in the wild. Thus, amidst all the dangers against animals and the extreme weather, lions remain one of the strongest to survive.
In this article, you’ll see an in-depth take on how they survive in their habitat all the time successfully and what they use and do to live out in the open. This way, you can understand an aspect of their daily lives and learn about them a little more.
Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
What do lions need to survive?
Like all other animals, lions need three basic things to survive. These things are none other than food, water, and shelter.
Lions need to eat meat, and they can get it from hunting mammals such as zebras, antelopes, gazelles, etc.
They need at least 15-25 pounds of meat per day, but they can live for 14 days without eating. However, when they eat, they can devour as much as a hundred pounds.
Due to their capacity to eat a lot and go for days without eating, they can survive even if they can’t find available prey in the wild.
Lions also take water the same way they eat food. They survive for four days without drinking water. However, they will drink every day if they find an available source nearby.
When it comes to shelter, it also means protection for them. Lions live in the open savannas, which means all the spots they rest in getting exposed to any other animal.
Still, they safely rest since they do so by groups. Lions have a group called pride, and it can consist of 10-15 lions. They don’t get challenged with such a large group and sleep next to each other without worries.
Other things that lions need to survive are already in them, and these things are none other than their body parts.
Related: How Do Lions Survive in the Desert?
What body parts do lions use for survival?
Each part of a lion’s body plays a vital role in helping them survive amidst the dangers of the open savanna and the wild.
Let’s take a look at each one.
Skin color
The skin color of lions acts like a camouflage amidst the golden grasslands of open savannas.
With such skin, lions can easily hide in tall grasses and stalk without getting noticed by their prey.
As a result, most of their hunting activities turn out successfully due to their extreme stealth and camouflage.
Paws
Their paws are pretty vital to tackle and pin down enemies of the same size or even larger ones.
With such brute strength, a single tackle can take down a zebra or a gazelle if they ever catch one.
Pads of lions
A lion’s paw pads are soft enough that it prevents any noise when stalking their prey.
In short, their pads don’t make any noise that’ll make animals nearby notice them.
As a result, a lion with minimal movement won’t make any noise the same way other cats move.
Sharp claws
A lion’s sharp claw is enough to tear the skin of any target they catch. At the same time, it’s also excellent protection if ever lions encounter other animals who would try to kill them.
Sharp teeth
Lions have sharp teeth that can tear the flesh of animals, and a single bite on the vital spot can provide an instant kill.
It’s also their tool to eat the meat of every prey they get in the wild. Thus, even thick-skinned animals won’t stand a chance against these animals.
How do lions protect themselves?
Lions protect themselves through their strong fighting capabilities and their group called pride.
The first thing that gives lions a great chance of survival is their fighting prowess. These animals have muscular bodies and sharp teeth and claws.
With their muscular bodies, they can tackle enemies and pin them down with ease. Their sharp claws and teeth can tear their prey’s skin and bite through vital spots for an instant kill.
While these animals can run fast, they only run when chasing animals, and they don’t use it to retreat.
Another thing is that lions are social animals, and they come in groups which we call pride. A pride can consist of 10-15 lions living together and hunting together.
With such a large number of lions, these animals protect each other and avoid dangers from other animals.
How do lions survive in the winter?
Lions typically live in savannas or grasslands, and winter in these habitats isn’t as cold as in other places.
Still, lions that live in warm seasons find it challenging to survive against cold weather.
While lions in captivity have dens to warm themselves up, the ones in the wild are searching for places all the time to keep themselves warm successfully.
Of course, since savannas don’t get many winters, such as snow, the dryness is quite tolerable to these animals. However, they still seek shelter during such seasons.
Summary
So, how do lions survive? Lions survive through many things. Among the things they need are food, water, and shelter. They can eat and drink every day, but they can also survive for days without such. Their home is with their group called pride, and it’s what keeps them safe.
Besides these things, lions also use their body parts to survive. Among these are their strength, speed, skin color, and sharp claws and teeth.
Lions are among the strongest animals that survive long in open savannas and grasslands with all these things.
Resources
Image credits – Canva
