Lions Mating
Lions in the Maasai Mara
Two Digital Gypsies Rating – 4.5 Stars
To see our YouTube video of Lions Mating, please click here.
The Swahili name for lion is Simba. A lion can be up to 48 inches tall, weigh from 300 to 500 pounds, and live up to 15 years. Gestation period for a lion is about 105 days and its habitat is savannas, grasslands, bush and woodlands. The average pride of lions can have 15 members with up to 10 females and their young. Female lions do most the hunting while the male patrols and protects their territory. The pride remains intact until the male or males in the pride are successfully challenged and driven away by other males, who then take over the pride. Mature young males leave the pride until they become strong enough to take over a pride of their own. Females in the pride usually give birth to 2 or 3 cubs around the same time, and the cubs are raised together. A lioness will often allow cubs other than her own to nurse which will often allow a neglected cub to survive.
During our safari in Kenya as we were driving along a road in the Maasai Mara National Reserve we stumbled onto two lions, a male and a female. They were in the process of mating. The two lions will separate from their pride and go off alone for several days. They copulate multiple times a day and don’t eat during this mating time. By day ten of the mating process the female lion knows if she is pregnant. If she is the pair of lions will return to the pride. If she isn’t pregnant, then the whole mating process starts over again. The male lion will do this mating ritual with every female in the pride.
Amazing! We never thought we would be lucky enough to see something like this.
