What Do Lions Eat?
Because lions are carnivores they eat all the meat they can find. When the lionesses hunt they look for herds so there's more of a chance for the kill. Lions mainly eat zebras, antalope, birds, lizards and the occassional elephant. It is said,like dogs, lions eat grass too for a balanced meal, but only when relaxing and hungry.
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Female lions usually hunt at night or dawn and in packs. Their prey consists mainly of large mammals, such as antelopes, gazelles, warthogs, wildebeest, buffalos and zebras, but smaller animals like hares and birds are also taken occasionally. Carrion is readily taken and often recovered from other predators like hyenas and wild dogs. 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, and at the Linyanti, where they hunt hippos.
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Interesting Fact:
An adult female lion needs about 5 kg (11 lbs) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15 lbs). |