TheComplete Travel Guide
      
 

Zambia Tourism Board

 

 
  HOME

  TOUR & SAFARI Co's

  PLACES TO VISIT
  
 Victoria Falls
   Zambezi River
 
   Lake Kariba  
   Lake Tanganyika  
   Other Waterfalls  
   Chimp Sanctuary
   Shiwa Ngandu 
   Lake Bangweulu 
   Livingstone Memorial 
  
Lake Mweru 
   Monuments 
   Museums
   Art Galleries
 
  GAME RESERVES

    South Luangwa
   North Luangwa
   Lower Zambezi
   Kafue 

   Sumbu
   Lochinvar
   Nyika
   Sioma Ngwezi
   Kasanka
   Bangweulu Wetlands
  
Liuwa Plain
   Mosi-o-Tunya
   Luambe
   Blue Lagoon
   Other Smaller Parks

  CITIES & TOWNS
    
Lusaka
 
 Livingstone  
  
The Copperbelt  
 
 Other Towns


  SAFARIS
   
Walking Safaris
 
 Birding Safaris
 
 Canoeing Safaris
 
 Mobile Safaris
   
Elephant Back Safaris
   Horse Back Safaris
  
Photographic Safaris
 
 Open Vehicle Safaris

  ADVENTURE/SPORTS
   Driving around Zambia

   
White Water Rafting

   River Boarding
   Bungi Jumping
   Abseiling
   Gorge Swinging
   Horse Trails
  
Tandem Kayaking
  
Canoeing/River Safaris

   House Boating
   Tiger and Fly
Fishing

  WILDLIFE
    Illustrated Checklists

  BIRDLIFE
     
In depth synopsis
   
Checklists

  DIRECTORY
     Adventure Companies
    Airlines
   
Air Charter

    Art Galleries
    Backpackers
    Campsites & Chalets  
   
Car Hire
   
Coaches / Buses

    Embassies
    Emergency Numbers
    Fishing Camps
    Game Lodges
    Golf Courses
    Private Reserves

    Govt Offices
    Guesthouses
    Hospitals
    Hotels
    Safari Operators
    Tours

   
Trains
    Travel Agents

  TRAVEL INFO
   Quick Facts

  
Getting There
   
Getting Around
   Handy Information
  
Visa Info  

  PEOPLE
   History
   Culture
  
Major Tribes
  
Ceremonies 

 

  ENVIRONMENT
   Geography
   Vegetation
   Conservation

   MAPS

  PHOTO GALLERIES

  LINKS

  TRAVEL NEWS

  ENQUIRIES

  ADVERTISING

 

 

 

LION

Most cat species live a fundamentally solitary existence, but the lion is an exception. It has developed a social system based on teamwork and a division of labor within the pride, and an extended but closed family unit centered around a group of related females. The average pride consists of about 15 individuals, including five to 10 females with their young and two or three territorial males that are usually brothers or pride mates.

Lion are plentiful in the bigger national parks but will often tend to stay in the remote parts for long periods at a time. They are the only cats moving in family groups and normally occupy a well defined territory.

In the southern part of South Luangwa the territories are quite small and the numbers in the groups quite large, some over twenty. Typically, two or more dominant males protect the territory against intruders. Several lionesses may produce cubs at one time and share the feeding. Eighty percent of the cubs will not survive to maturity.


Within the pride, the territorial males are the fathers of all the cubs. When a lioness is in heat, a male will join her, staying with her constantly. The pair usually mates for less than a minute, but it does so about every 15 to 30 minutes over a period of four to five days.

Before maturity at four years, young males are evicted from the group to live a nomadic existence unwanted in any other lion territory. Many don’t survive as they are not yet efficient hunters, and if one cannot fend for itself, it starves. The lion is an ambush rather than a chase killer. With its heavy body it can only reach speeds of about (35 miles) an hour, often much slower than the animals it pursues, so it requires much stealth and surprise to catch them. As a group, they will circle the animal, one will attack and knock it to the ground with a heavy blow, seize it by the throat or mouth and suffocate it.. Although not as efficient at hunting as leopard or wild dog, their communal hunting methods ensure the survival of the group.

After some years the dominant males of the group are replaced by more powerful contenders, thus ensuring the introduction of new genetic material into the pride gene pool. The new leaders may kill and eat the cubs of other males. The impact of this seems to bring the females into heat again and soon produce cubs from the new dominant males.
The mating behaviour of lions is a painful process for the female. The penis is barbed and its withdrawal hurts the female who may twist around and attack the dismounting male. The pain is necessary for feline mating as it is the shock to her system that induces ovulation and permits fertilisation. Lionesses have a gestation period of three and a half months. Lions live up to about 18 years in the wild.

Lions have long been killed in rituals of bravery, as hunting trophies and for their medicinal and magical powers. Although lions are now protected in many parts of Africa, they were once considered to be stock-raiding vermin and were killed on sight. In some areas, livestock predation remains a severe problem.

Lions are found in all the major parks in Zambia. South Luangwa, Kafue, North Luangwa and Lower Zambezi.


COMMON WILDLIFE SIGHTINGS IN ZAMBIA


See the new page
VIDEOS OF ZAMBIA
with short clips on
safaris, wildlife,
Victoria Falls,
adventures and more

CLICK HERE
for
the Tourist Board
Video on Zambia



Photo Gallery Pages
by destination,


Download
Electronic Brochures

* Zambia Highlights

 * Tourism Investment
Opportunities in the
 Kafue National Park

 



 Find the most 
comprehensive range of 
cheap flights to Lusaka
 chosen by our travel experts

 

 

 

 

 

Designed and hosted
by
 
for the
Zambia National

Tourist Board

Contact Webmaster                                Contact ZNTB  offices                         © All text on this site is under Copyright