African/Asiatic Lion - 'Nakobi'

This is NAKOBI. He is a 12 year old golden-maned African/Asiatic cross lion. He weighs about 370 pounds. Nakobi came from a gentleman in Oregon who moved to California and needed a place for him to live. He wanted Nakobi to be in a place where he could still have contact with him, so he brought him here when he was 9 months old.

Nakobi is a very special individual because, like some of you, he has allergies to grasses.

In appearance, the lion is a powerfully built, muscular cat. The fur is short and generally uniform in color, ranging from grey/buff to reddish brown in coloration with the exception of the undersides which are often white, especially in females. The back of the ears and tip of the tail are dark brown or black. The most distinctive feature of the male lion is its mane, a ruff of thick, long fur. The color of the mane varies from a light brown to almost black and covers the sides of the face, neck and in some animals extends to the abdomen. The adolescent male begins to grow its mane at about 18 months and it continues to grow until the cat reaches about five years of age. Throughout this period it is common for the mane to darken. A fully developed male lion can grow up to 10 feet in body length and is surpassed in size only by the Tiger.

The lion is unusual amongst the cat species in that it lives in organized social groups called prides. The pride can consist of as many as thirty to forty lions, the majority of which are females and their offspring, along with a small number of resident males. It is common for the females within the pride to be closely related and this family bonding is often extended through communal suckling and caring of the young within the group.

In the wild, African Lions live in the savannah, which is a large, open, grassy plain. They hunt zebra, antelope, wildebeest, and deer. Hunting is a shared process. Lionesses hunt by ambush, with the majority of the hunting group chasing the prey toward individuals lying in wait who are then able to give chase over short distances before leaping on the selected animal for the kill. Once the prey is taken, it is common for the males of the pride to eat first even though they may take no part in the hunting process.

A lion's roar can be heard as far away as five miles!