How Much Does a Lion Weigh?
The lion is a big cat and the largest meat-eater in Africa. It’s strong and has a lot of muscles in its body. People often wonder, How heavy is a lion?
Lion Weight: Weighing Up Factors
Two main things decide how much a lion weighs: whether it’s a boy or a girl, and what type of lion it is. Lions are special because males and females look different. Boys have a big, bushy mane, and they’re usually larger than girls.
The kind of lion it is also tells you about its size and weight. There are two types of lions: Panthera leo leo and Panthera leo melanochaita.
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Types of Lions and their Weight
Here’s a simple table listing the average weight ranges for different types of lions:
| Lion Type | Male Weight Range (kg) | Female Weight Range (kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Baby Lion (Lion Cub) | Around 1.2 to 2.1 kilograms | Around 1.2 to 2.1 kilograms |
| At the Age of 6 Months | 15 to 25 kilograms | 15 to 25 kilograms |
| At the Age of Six Years | 180 to 250 kilograms | 120 to 182 kilograms |
| African Lion | 150 – 250 | 110 – 180 |
| Asiatic Lion | 160 – 190 | 110 – 120 |
| American Cave Lion | Around 350 | Not Applicable |
How Much Does a Lion Weigh at Birth?
Usually, lion moms have between one and four babies, but sometimes they can have up to six. When baby lions are born, they weigh about 1.5 kilograms on average. They keep growing until they’re about six years old.
Average Lion Weight In Adult Lions
When lions grow up, you can notice differences in their size and weight. This varies between the two types of lions and also between males and females of each type.
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Average Weight of African Lions
The biggest lions, called African lions, live in sub-Saharan Africa. Male African lions can be as long as 3.3 meters, and females can be up to 2.7 meters long, including their tails.
Male lions can weigh anywhere from 150 to 250 kilograms, while female lions can weigh between 110 and 180 kilograms.
The heaviest male lion ever recorded lived in Kenya and weighed a whopping 270 kilograms.
Asiatic Lions
Asiatic lions live mainly in Gir National Park in Gujarat, India. They’re different from African lions in a few ways. For instance, African lions have a big, bushy mane, but Asiatic lions have a darker and less bushy one. Asiatic lions are also usually smaller than African lions.
The longest male Asiatic lion ever measured was 2.92 meters long, but this includes the tail. Because they’re smaller, they also weigh less.
Male Asiatic lions weigh between 160 and 190 kilograms, and females weigh between 110 and 120 kilograms.
Historic Lion Weight
Lots of types of lions are gone forever. One of them is the American Cave lion, which was much bigger than the lions we see today. It weighed about 350 kilograms and was around 25% larger than modern lions. Sadly, it disappeared about 11,000 years ago.
There was another huge lion found in Kenya in 2018. We’re not sure exactly how big it was, but some people say it was gigantic. They think it might have been as tall as a person when it was standing on its four legs.
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