* When is the Public Feeding of the lions?
Public Feeding of lions at 12:00 on Sundays
* How long is the gestation period?
Gestation is between 108 and 110 days.
* How big are the lion litters generally?
Lion litters can be anything between 1 – 7. At Seaview Lion Park the litters have been from 1 up to 6.
* How big are the lion cubs when they’re born?
They weigh between 1.5 and 2 kilos. Their eyes are open unless they are born prematurely, but they cannot focus for the first few weeks. Their eyes start off blue, becoming darker before changing to the amber colour seen in adults. The eyes of the White Lions are slightly lighter and sometimes stay blue.
* Why do the lion cubs have spots?
When they are very young, lion cubs are covered in a fluffy fur and the dark spots are for camouflage. These spots tend to disappear from their head and back at around 4 months old, and the spots on their legs are covered by the new hair that replaces the fluff at around the same age. Spots can still be seen on the skin but hidden by fur on the legs of older lions.
* When does the lion’s mane grow?
It starts to grow on the male lion when the cub is five or six months old. The mane will only reach it’s full potential by the time he’s five-years-old.
* When do lions reach maturity?
They reach maturity and height by 3 years abut they continue to fill out, especially in the head and neck area, until they are 5½ years of age.
* How long do lions usually live for?
In the wild they would normally only survive for 10 – 15 years, depending on their strength and ability to hunt. In captivity, lions can live to 20 years or more since they do not have to hunt and risk injury. Even at this ripe old age they can still produce!
