1. Although lions are often referred to as King of the Jungle, they generally live in grassland or plains, not jungles.
2. In the last 30 years, the number of lions in Africa has halved. It is now about 34,000.
3. Tigers are bigger than lions. They can weigh around 850 pounds compared with a lion’s 500…
4. …but lions roar louder than tigers and can be heard up to five miles away.
5. CS Lewis’s great lion in his Narnia books is named Aslan after the Turkish word for lion.
6. At full pelt, lions can run at a speed of 50mph.
7. The country with most lions is Tanzania, a long way ahead of Botswana, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
8. “And the lion will lie down with the lamb, but the lamb won’t get much sleep.” (Woody Allen).
9. The lion cub which appears in Disney’s Lion King animation is named Simba after the Swahili word for lion.
10. Red Lion is the most common name for a pub in Britain. White Lion comes in 25th place, Golden Lion is 42nd, Black Lion is 66th and simply Lion is 79th.