Currently, lions are only found in sub-Saharan Africa with a small population living in the Gir Forest in northwestern India. Historically, they were also found in Middle Eastern forests throughout Syria, Iraq, and southwestern Iran. Lions will mostly be found open woods and thick grasslands where there is plenty of cover for sneaking up on prey.

In the Serengeti, a typical lion pride consists of two to eighteen females, their cubs, and one to seven males. Female lions will normally give birth to their cubs in a secluded area away from the pride. The mother will keep her cubs hidden until they are four to six weeks old before returning. Once in the pride, the cubs are cared for by all of the females. Male cubs will normally be chased out of the pride once they reach two years of age while female cubs can remain with their mother and the pride for their entire life.

Lions face many dangers such as habitat loss, retaliatory killings by ranchers, and population fragmentation. Our friends at Kope Lion are helping to protect lions by mitigating human-animal conflict. They will help local herders reinforce their bomas, or livestock corrals, and act as guardians while lion prides migrate through villages to follow wild herds.