Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “The Lion: King of Forest” Complete Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

The Lion: King of Forest

The lion has fascinated the mankind ever since the prehistoric times. It epitomizes the supremacy in the animal kingdom and the man has always been immensely proud to win over the lion. No doubt, the lion is the most famous, powerful and a big creature in the cat family. He is a symbol of royalty, beauty and power.

The lions do not like to live in thick forests. They can however, live both in cool climates or in the heat of semi desert areas. Most of them live in the woodlands, grassy plains and the mountains with thorny scrub trees. They are found in Europe, Africa, Middle East and India. Because of indiscriminate killing of lions of by the men, now only about 200 lions are believed to live in India.

A male lion usually weights about 160 to 180 kg. (350 to 450 pounds), but some weight upto 230 kg. (500 pound). Males are about 10 feet (3 meters) long. The lions are about 3.5 feet (101 cms.) tall. Lionesses are about a feet shorter in length than the males and weight about 113 to 140 kgs (250 to 300 pounds). The lions live in a group, called pride. A pride consists of 10 to 20 lions or as many as 35. The female lion, called lioness gives birth to the young ones, called cubs. A litter may include from 1 to 6 cubs. The average life span of a lion is 20 to 25 years in captivity and 15 to 20 years in the wild. The gestation period of a lioness is about 3.5 months. They sleep and rest for about 20 hrs a day. They usually walk about 8 kms in a day. If they had a big meal, they may rest for 24 hours. If hungry, they may travel as far a 15 miles (24 kms.), in search of food. A cub may nurse on any lioness, that has milk, besides its own mother. A lion prefers large prays like Zebra, antelope, deer, buffalo, and other hooped animals. A male lion can eat 75 pounds (34 kgs.) in one meal. After killing an animal, the lion drags it to a shady spot. One lion can drag a 270 kg (600 pound) animal, something that is difficult for 6 men to do !