Out of all the Big Cats in Masai Mara, the Lion is the one that arouses much awe and admiration. It is the largest of Africa's big cats and is commonly referred to as the "King of the Jungle". In Kenya, you can spot these magnificent creatures while on a wildlife safari in Masai Mara Game Reserve or by visiting some of Kenya's National Parks and Reserves. Lions are at the top of most safari wishlists and a sighting may be seen as a safari prerequisite. The lion, Africa’s largest cat, is a formidable predator.
When in the African bush, for me, the challenge and excitement of tracking lions is certainly one of my favorite things to do, and there’s no better sight than coming across lions. Lions are symbols of courage and power, majesty, strength, justice, and the military. Their sheer presence when encountering them in the bushveld is quite remarkable. However, most often than not, lion sightings consist of stumbling upon a sleeping pride. Especially in the heat of the day.
If you are wanting to focus on seeing lions while on safari, it is recommended to start early in the morning or late afternoon as it is cooler and they are most active.
Lion Society and Behavior
Lions are the most sociable members of the cat family. Lions are the most social members of the cat family. Prides generally consist of two to 15 females, their young cubs and a group of males, many of whom are brothers unrelated to the lionesses. Young lionesses are initiated into the pride to breed alongside their mothers and aunts, while adolescent males leave and strive to find a new pride to overtake.
They live in Prides of 15 to 20 members, with up to three males, several adult females (one dominant), and a number of sub-adults and cubs. Typically males may hold territory of between 20-400 square kms. within which are several prides of females. Lion prides are ever-changing, as males only hold sway over a group of females for an average of 18 months before they are ousted, sometimes even killed, by stronger or more numerous newcomers. Only large male coalitions can aspire to control a pride over a period of relative stability.
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Interestingly, lions have one of the most complex communication behaviors of any of the cats. They can make a variety of calls which include roars, grunts, moans, growls, snarls, meows, purrs, hums, puffs and woofs. Lions are the loudest of any big cat and can be heard up to 8km away ! Lions roar for a number of reasons, from advertising territorial ownership and intimidating rivals, to locating other members of the pride and assisting in social cohesion.
Lionesses are the hunters of the pride and even though they are physically smaller than male lions, they make up for it in speed. They are in fact up to 30% faster than male lions, reaching speeds of up to 50mph! the females hunt together in packs, effectively increasing their chances of capturing their prey.
Interesting Facts about Lions:
- Lions are very social animals which is why their group, or pride, can be up to 40 lions
- Female lions are the main hunters. While they’re out hunting, the males guard the pride’s territory and their cubs
- A lion’s roar can be heard up to 8 kilometers away!
- Lions scent mark their territory, using their urine, to create a perimeter
- A pride’s territory can extend up to 100 square meters
- Lions can run up to 50 mph in short bursts and can jump up to 36 feet.
Breeding Habits
Females may produce as many as six litters during their lifetime. Lionesses come into season sporadically; the period between heats varies from a couple of weeks to months. Estrous lasts about a week, during which time males compete for receptive females. Male coalition partners, however, are rarely aggressive towards each other in competition over potential mates. They seem to operate on an agreed first-come, first-served system. It is quite normal for either partner to initiate mating.
The male’s technique begins with the so-called “mating snarl,” which has been described as a sneeze-like grimace. These vocals may or may not convince the female to stop and crouch. The female, if she initiates, keeps unusually near the male and may rub her head on his shoulders and sides, emitting a deep, sensuous rumble, walking sinuously around him and flicking her tail. She may even back into him and crouch to stimulate his interest.
During copulation, the female yowls and the male often bites her neck in a manner similar to the subduing neck bite of domestic cats. After ejaculating, the male leaps off, often to avoid a blow from the female, who may spin around when his weight is removed. Both animals then lie down. During one consorting week, the pair may copulate over 300 times, an average of once every 15 minutes during the waking hours. A successful pride male may mate 20,000 times in his lifetime.
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Gestation is relatively short-only three and a half months. In a secluded, well-hidden spot, often among rocks or dense riverside vegetation, the lioness, will give birth to two or three cubs on average. She suckles and remains with them for long periods, only occasionally returning to the pride to hunt and feed. After about a month, the cubs are led to the pride.
Lionesses appear to synchronize breeding activity; it is not unusual for several females in a pride to have litters at the same time. Unlike other mammals, lion mothers will commonly tolerate suckling by cubs of others in the pride, because they are generally all related. By providing milk to cubs belonging to her sisters, a female aids in rearing young that carry some of her own genes. Females do, however, more readily nurse their own offspring who tend to approach boldly, mewing, purring and pushing their mothers’ faces before proceeding to suckle noisily. Cousins are more prone to sneak in from behind.
Nomadic males regularly kill cubs, presumably to eliminate rivals’ genetic material from the population. Cubs are also at risk from other predators, such as spotted hyenas and leopards. Due to these threats, a lioness keeps her brood well-hidden and will relocate to a new, secure spot if the original location is disturbed.
Feeding Habits
Lions’ predatory habits have enhanced the evolution of a large head and powerful jaws equipped with long canines. They have sizeable feet, and retractable claws unsheathe to present a catching tool as wide as a squash racket. Lions are the largest species of African carnivore and routinely tackle prey, such as buffalo, that are beyond the abilities of other predators. They stalk and ambush like cheetahs and leopards; but similar to hyenas and hunting dogs, they also hunt collectively.
The majority of a lion’s prey is medium to large-sized ungulates, such as wildebeest and zebra. There is, however, considerable seasonal and locational variation. At all times, lions are opportunistic creatures and will eat small prey such as rodents, fledgling birds and ostrich eggs if given the chance. Males need to eat approximately 20 pounds of meat a day; 11 pounds are necessary to sustain females.
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Females in the pride do most of the hunting, but males, with their superior strength and weight, gain first access to a kill once the dirty work is done. There is a reason, beyond sheer laziness, for these roles; males have a distinct disadvantage in stalking with their manes, which appear like haystacks moving through the grass. Hunting tactics depend on prey and habitat. In open habitats, lions tend to hunt at night, though they can be active during the day if there is enough vegetation to hide their approaches. River crossings and watering places are favorite sites for ambushes.
Stalking and rushing prey demands that lions get as close as possible. When several lions hunt together, they tend to try to encircle prey to cut off lines of escape. Experts disagree on whether or not lions pay attention to wind direction, though upwind hunts are usually more successful. Although a lion can eventually reach speeds of nearly 37 miles per hour, most of its prey can sprint faster. This means the lion must get within 100 feet before charging, overtaking, slapping down and finally grabbing the victim. Once captured, the prey is subdued and suffocated with a relatively quick neck bite or a sustained bite over the muzzle. Several lions may overcome larger prey together, and members of the pride may begin to open the victim while one lion is still suffocating it.
Tsavo Lions: A Unique Population
The lions of Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks are among the most iconic and enigmatic big cats in the world. The lions of Tsavo East and West are not just majestic predators but also fascinating symbols of adaptation and survival in one of Kenya’s most rugged landscapes. Key Insights from Recent Studies Research conducted by Bruce Patterson and other scientists at the Field Museum in Chicago has shed light on the lions’ dietary habits.
While lions are present in several African ecosystems, the Tsavo lions have gained a unique place in history due to their distinct behavior, ecological adaptations, and historical significance.
Habitat and Physical Characteristics
- Tsavo East: The lions here are adapted to open savannahs and semi-arid plains, where they hunt large prey such as zebras, wildebeests, and antelope.
- Tsavo West: The lions of Tsavo West inhabit a more rugged, bushy, and volcanic landscape. Their prey includes herbivores found near the numerous springs, lava flows, and dense thickets of the park.
Tsavo prides generally consist of up to 10 females with a dominant male. Unlike other lion populations, such as those in the Serengeti, Tsavo prides do not tolerate multiple males. The lions of Tsavo face several conservation challenges, including habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching. As human populations continue to expand into lion habitats, encounters between lions and livestock herders are becoming more frequent. This often leads to retaliatory killings of lions.
Tsavo lions size The Tsavo lions were notably larger than average lions of their time. Male Tsavo lions had body lengths ranging from 8 ft 2 in to 9 ft 10 in (2.5-3 meters), with shoulder heights between 2 ft 11 in and 3 ft 7 in (0.9-1.1 meters). Their weight ranged from 220-363 lbs (186-227 kg). Females were generally smaller, with body lengths of 7 ft 7 in to 8 ft 6 in (2.3-2.6 meters) and weights ranging from 100-165 lbs (45-75 kg).
Maneless Lions of Tsavo
One of the distinguishing features of Tsavo lions is that most of the males do not have the large, flowing manes commonly associated with other African lions. The maneless lions of Tsavo are a result of both genetic variation and environmental adaptation. While most male lions have manes, Tsavo lions typically do not, likely due to the hot climate, where a mane would hinder cooling. Genetic studies show that this trait is inherited and represents a local adaptation. Earlier classifications based on mane size have proven unreliable, with modern DNA analyses revealing that lions’ physical traits, such as manes, can be influenced by external factors.
The lions of Tsavo are still found in Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks, which together form a large protected area in southeastern Kenya.
The Infamous Man-Eaters of Tsavo
The most famous chapter in the Tsavo lions’ history unfolded in 1898 when two male lions-later dubbed the “Man-Eaters of Tsavo”-became notorious for attacking and killing railway workers constructing the Kenya-Uganda railway. Unlike most lions, the Tsavo man-eaters were mane-less males, which added to their mystique. Over the course of nine months, these lions were responsible for numerous human fatalities, and their reign of terror only ended when Lt. Col. John Patterson shot them.
The Tsavo Man-Eaters were a pair of large man-eating male lions in the Tsavo region of Kenya, which were responsible for the deaths of many construction workers on the Kenya-Uganda Railway between March and December 1898. The lion pair was said to have killed dozens of people, with some early estimates reaching over a hundred deaths. While the terrors of man-eating lions were not new in the British public perception, the Tsavo Man-Eaters became one of the most notorious instances of dangers posed to Indian and native African workers of the Uganda Railway.
As part of the construction of a railway linking Uganda with the Indian Ocean at Kilindini Harbour, in March 1898, the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. The building site consisted of several camps spread over an area of 8 miles (13 km), accommodating the several thousand workers from India. The project was led by Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, who arrived just days before the disappearances and killings began.
During the next nine months of construction, two maneless male Tsavo lions stalked the campsite, dragging workers from their tents at night, devouring them. There was an interval of several months when the attacks ceased, but word trickled in from other nearby settlements of similar lion attacks. When the lions returned, the attacks intensified, with almost daily killings. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and bomas, or thorn fences made of whistling thorn trees around their camp for protection to keep the man-eaters out, all to no avail; the lions leaped over or crawled through the thorn fences to get into the camps.
As the attacks mounted, hundreds of workers fled from Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge. At this point, colonial officials began to intervene. According to Patterson, even the District Officer, Mr. Whitehead, narrowly escaped being killed by one of the lions after arriving at the Tsavo train depot in the evening. Eventually, other officials arrived, with a reinforcement of around twenty armed sepoys to assist in the hunt.
Patterson set traps and tried several times to ambush the lions at night from a tree. After repeated unsuccessful attempts, he shot the first lion on 9 December 1898. Twenty days later, the second lion was found and killed. The first lion killed measured 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m) from nose to tip of the tail. Patterson wrote in his account that he wounded the first lion with one bullet from a high-caliber rifle. This shot struck the lion in its hind leg, but it escaped. Later, it returned at night and began stalking Patterson as he tried to hunt it.
The second lion was shot nine times, five with the same rifle, three with a second, and once with a third rifle - six finding their mark. The first shot was fired from atop a scaffolding that Patterson had built near a goat killed by the lion. Two shots from a second rifle hit the lion eleven days later as it was stalking Patterson and trying to flee. When they found the lion the next day, Patterson shot it three more times with the same rifle, severely crippling it, and shot it three times with a third rifle, twice in the chest and once in the head, which killed it.
The construction crew returned and finished the bridge in February 1899. The exact number of people killed by the lions is unclear. Patterson gave several figures, overall claiming that there were 135 victims. At the end of the crisis, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Lord Salisbury, addressed the House of Lords on the subject of the Tsavo man-eaters: "The whole of the works were put to a stop because a pair of man-eating lions appeared in the locality and conceived a most unfortunate taste for our workmen. At last the labourers entirely declined to carry on unless they were guarded by iron entrenchments.
After 25 years as Patterson's floor rugs, the lions' skins were sold to the Field Museum of Natural History in 1924 for $5,000. The skins arrived at the museum in very poor condition. In 2001, a review of causes for man-eating behaviour among lions revealed that the proposed human toll of 100 or more was most likely an exaggeration and that the more likely death toll was 28-31 victims. This reduced total was based on their review of Colonel Patterson's original journal, courtesy of Alan Patterson.
The two lion specimens in Chicago's Field Museum are known as FMNH 23970, the 'standing' mount, killed on 9 December 1898, and FMNH 23969, the 'crouching' mount, killed on 29 December 1898. Recent studies on the isotopic signature analysis of Δ13C and Nitrogen-15 in their bone collagen and hair keratin were published in 2009. Using realistic assumptions on the consumable tissue per victim, lion energetic needs, and their assimilation efficiencies, researchers compared the man-eaters' Δ13C signatures to various reference standards: Tsavo lions with normal (wildlife) diets, grazers, and browsers from Tsavo East and Tsavo West, and the skeletal remains of Taita people from the early 20th century.
DNA from compacted hair found in the tooth cavities of the Tsavo man-eaters in 2024 reveals that in addition to humans, the lions fed on zebras, oryx, waterbuck, wildebeest, and at least two individuals of Masai giraffe. The scientific analysis does not differentiate between the entire human corpses consumed and the parts of individual prey since the attacks often raise alarms, forcing the lions to slink back into the surrounding area. Many workers over the long construction period went missing, died in accidents, or fled out of fear, so it is likely almost all of the builders who stayed on knew someone missing or supposedly eaten.
Theories for the man-eating behaviour of lions have been reviewed by Peterhans and Gnoske, as well as Bruce D. Patterson (2004). The Tsavo lions may have been accustomed to finding dead humans at the Tsavo River crossing. An alternative argument indicates that the first lion had a severely damaged tooth that would have compromised its ability to kill natural prey. However, the general public has generally disregarded this theory. Studies indicate that the lions ate humans as a supplement to other food, as a last resort. A 2017 study by Bruce Patterson found that one of the lions had an infection at the root of his canine tooth, making it hard for that particular lion to hunt.
Conservation Status and Threats
During the last century, Africa’s large carnivores have undergone massive declines, largely due to human activity. Lions are no exception - compared with their historic range, lions (Panthera leo) have lost 75%. In 1980 there may have been as many as 75,000 lions, while today it is likely that there are only between 20,000 and 30,000 free roaming lions. East Africa is home to around 60% of Africa’s lions, but some studies suggest that this population may decline by as much as 50% over the next two decades. Historically, European colonists contributed to these declines, while nowadays, growing human populations out-compete carnivores for space and resources.
The IUCN Red List classifies African lions as vulnerable. Human-lion conflict, retaliatory killing, trophy hunting, and habitat loss or degradation are all listed as threats to their populations by the IUCN. As human populations continue to expand into lion habitats, encounters between lions and livestock herders are becoming more frequent. This often leads to retaliatory killings of lions.
Poaching remains a concern in Tsavo, primarily due to the demand for lion body parts like bones and claws in traditional medicine. As apex predators, lions play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of Tsavo’s ecosystem by controlling the populations of large herbivores like zebras, buffalo, and antelope.
As human settlements expand near Tsavo, lions occasionally prey on livestock, leading to retaliatory killings by herders. Tsavo lions are not considered critically endangered, but like all African lions, they face threats from habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and poaching.
Based at the Tony Lapham Predator Hub, our flagship Mara Predator Conservation Programme has been at the forefront of predator conservation in the Greater Mara for a number of years now. Since 2007, we have contributed to predator conservation efforts in the Amboseli / Tsavo ecosystem. Our commitment to lion conservation across this ecosystem is represented by our long-term support of Ewaso Lions, a community project focused on promoting coexistence between people and wildlife.
Table: Key Facts About Lions in Kenya
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Habitat | Masai Mara, Tsavo East, Tsavo West, and other National Parks and Reserves |
| Social Structure | Live in prides of 15-20 members |
| Diet | Primarily wildebeest and zebra, but also buffalo and warthogs |
| Tsavo Lions | Known for being maneless and larger than average |
| Threats | Habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, poaching |
| Conservation Status | Vulnerable (IUCN Red List) |
The FULL Story of the Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo
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