featuring

inside

asian lionsLOADS AND LOADS OF ROAR-SOME FACTS FOR YOU TO ENJOY

JOKESPUZZLESDIY DRAWINGS…AND SO MUCH MORE!

HOW LION-LIKE ARE YOU?

explorers

SUMMER 2014

Get creative and win a jungle bedroom

quiz

plus!

Your essential guide to the lesser-known king of beasts

All you need to know about…

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ADULT LIONS TYPICALLY CONSUME 18KG OF MEAT IN ONE SITTING – THAT’S THE SAME AS 160 BIG HAMBURGERS! LIONS SPEND UP TO 18 HOURS PER DAY RESTING OR SLEEPING FEMALES HAVE TWO TO FOUR CUBS THAT BECOME INDEPENDENT AGED ONE AND REACH MATURITY AT THREE OR FOUR YEARS ASIAN LIONS CAN LIVE ABOUT 18-20 YEARSin 

numb

ers

Lions’ roars…

can be heard as far away as 8km

are used to mark their territory and help their pride locate them

are the deepest and loudest of all the big cats’

ask an adultWhy can’t most cats roar? Give them a hint: the answer is on page 31 of Wild About.

did you know?

Lions are the only cats

that live together in organised

social groups called prides. A

typical pride of Asian lions consists

of between two and five females

and their young. When male

cubs reach maturity they

leave their pride.

did you know?Male Asian lions are very different from their African cousins. They don’t join prides

and are very independent. They sometimes team up with other

males to defend their territory, but only usually mix with females

when mating or to share large kills.

the Asian lion Asian lion vs

African lion

Asian lion:WEIGHS BETWEEN 160KG AND 190KG

LARGEST ON RECORD MEASURED 9½ FEET FROM NOSE TO TAIL

SHORTER, SPARSER MANE THAN ITS LARGER

AFRICAN COUSINS

EARS ARE EASIER TO SPOT

SKIN FOLD ON BELLY IS NOT FOUND ON

AFRICAN LIONS

African lion:

WEIGHS BETWEEN 150KG AND 230KG

LARGEST ON RECORD MEASURED 11 FEET FROM NOSE TO TAIL

SHAGGY, SANDY- COLOURED MANE

EARS ARE COVERED BY MANE

Sshhh! Stay quiet and out of sight as we

watch the Asian lions of the Gir Forest

on one of their nightly hunts for food…

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How does a lion like his meat?Roar!

Asian lions are predatory carnivorous animals.

The females do almost all the hunting.

The females mainly hunt at night to avoid being

seen. They work together using clever tactics to

catch prey. Smaller, faster lionesses chase animals

towards the centre of the pride, where the bigger,

heavier females ambush them.

By working together, they can sometimes catch very

large prey, such as buffaloes. But if lionesses are out

on their own and see the opportunity, they hunt smaller animals such as

deer or boar, too.

Asian lions can sometimes be cheeky and steal the food of other predators,

such as hyenas, by scaring them off so they can tuck in.

In the Gir Forest, the main prey species are buffaloes, goats, sambar deer, chital deer and nilgai antelopes. Since prey is smaller in the

Gir, fewer lionesses are needed for hunting and

there is less meat to share. That’s why Asian lion prides

are quite small.

When lionesses bring food home, there’s a family

scramble over dinner. Males only join prides for dinner

when there has been a large kill and there’s lots of meat

to go round.

grub’s up

brainteaserDana and her pride have set their sights on a buffalo for dinner. Guide them through the Gir to catch their prey before it escapes!

Lions may appear to be exotic creatures from

faraway lands, but they once lived much

closer to home than you’d think! Read

on for the fascinating story behind

the Asian lions we know today…

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the lion’s tale

2These are the lions that were used in gladiator

battles in Roman coliseums and

Greek amphitheatres.

3Until guns were invented about

200 years ago, Asian lions lived all across India. But as hunting became a popular sport, the surviving lions

were driven into the Gir Forest in northwestern India.

4In 1900, the local ruler said the few

remaining lions living in the Gir Forest were to be protected. He pretended that there were only 20 left to scare hunters away!

1Once upon a time, before humans hunted them, Asian lions prowled Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Middle

East and most of India.

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did you know?There are only 115 Asian lions living in European zoos!

6There are more Asian

lions today than 40 years ago, but the species is still

endangered. ZSL is helping Indian authorities install

anti-poaching software, and supporting a local zoo’s Asian

lion breeding programme.

5The Gir Forest is now the last

place in the world where Asian lions live in the wild. There are around 400 living in this dry

forest and scrubland.

Let Kenny the keeper introduce you to our magnificent Asian lions

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How many lions should I look out for?ZSL London Zoo is home to three Asian lions: Rubi, the eldest, and Heidi and Indi, who were born in 2011. Their dad is our breeding male, Lucifer, who has now moved to another group.

When’s the best time to spot them?Lions are most active early in the morning and late in the afternoon. In the summer, when it’s hot, they tend to sleep even more than usual, so look out for them snoozing!

Do the lions like to play?As you know by now, a lion’s favourite activity is a good nap – but our keepers make sure they’re entertained the rest of the time with special toys. They have balls to play with and feeding toys that tease them with meat to keep them active.

How do the keepers look after the lions and stay safe?Keepers usually make sure there is a safety barrier between them and the cats – but sometimes they

have to get closer. They train the lions to become comfortable with common procedures such as dental check-ups, and when they need close contact for a long time, they give them medicine that makes them go to sleep so they don’t become distressed or scared.

Are London’s lions getting a new home?They sure are! The current exhibit has been around since 1976, so we decided it was high time to give them a more modern space. Their updated house will

be three times as roomy, with a special area for new lions and cubs. Who knows? There may be some new additions to our pride soon!

Where will the lions be while their new home is built?We don’t want the lions to get scared by the building work, so we’re moving them to an off-show space at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. The lions will be moving to Whipsnade in October, so you’ve only got a few months left to visit them. Their new home will be open for Easter 2016.

The most lion-like among you will have answered…

mostly As!

Asian lions are social creatures who spend most of their time with their pride, but they’re known to

defend their territory, too – not just any old lion can join their gang! They enjoy a big family meal, but

a lion’s favourite thing to do? Sleep, of course. They don’t call it a cat nap for nothing!

How lion-like are you?Asian lions are unique creatures with distinctive social habits. Take our quiz to see how similar you are to these big cats!

London’s pride

The summer holidays are finally here! You can’t wait to…a Have picnics and movie nights with your friendsb Finally finish your book – no interruptionsc Play video games all summer long!

The rules of your bedroom are…a Knock at all timesb Come on in whenever!c KEEP OUT

It’s dinner time and you prefer…a A big family meal where everyone digs inb Eating in front of your favourite TV programmec Making your own grub

How often do you nap?a Every day. Who doesn’t love a good snooze?b Never! I’ve got far too much to doc Only if my parents make me

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Draw your own lion – with the template above or without, it’s up to you! Send your pictures to us at www. xxxxxxxxx/xxxxx by xx xxxxxx 2014 and the very best one will be featured in the next issue of Wild About Explorers. The winner will also take home a personalised jungle wall sticker set (RRP £79.99) and lion pendulum clock with swinging tail (RRP £28.99). Both available from www.loubilou.com.

Quick drawFollow these easy steps to draw your own Asian lion

What happened when the lion ate the comedian?He felt funny!

a m s e M c j j m s

w u n p z o o q q w

i w o v k p w b o s

l a x V U L T U r E

d e e p o l e t n a

b e s o o g n o m e

o m a k z z t i a t

a r a e b h t o l s

r r s c a z f k t r

f l d w b h y e n a

Sloth bear Mongoose

HyenaCobra

win!

brainteaserThe only animals our lions live with are the ducks that swim round their moat. But in the Gir Forest, Asian lions coexist with a wide variety of wildlife. Can you find them among this jumble of letters?

Antelope

Wild boar

Vulture