DIET in the wild
Feeding Behaviours in the Wild
Lions are opportunistic predators and will acquire roughly 40% of their intake from scavenging (Haas et al, 2005). Hunting may occur individually or as a group and stalking time in Kalahari lions ranged from 7 minutes for smaller prey, to 30 minutes for larger preferred prey. (Eloff, 1984). The majority of prey hunted by African lions ranges between 40 and 250kg. Given a choice, lions will select larger prey (190-559kg), preferred species include wildebeest, gemsbok, buffalo, giraffe and zebra (Hayward & Kerley, 2005). Lions may spend several hours consuming large prey (Visser, 2009).
Wild lions are inactive for the majority of the day (between 20-21 hours). Approximately 2 hours is spent walking and 1 hour eating. 80 – 100% of activity occurs at night (Haas et al, 2005). Kalahari lions were reported to leave an average of 1/3 of the carcass (Eloff, 1984), whilst captive lions consumed 90% of hind limbs and all of the skin offered (Smith et al, 2006). Smuts, 1979, found traces of soil and grass alongside vertebrate carcasses in lion stomachs, which is likely to have come from the stomachs of the prey consumed.
Considerable sums of energy are used to capture and kill prey in the wild. Predicted field metabolic rates for wild lions are 4.5 x BMR (4.5 x 50-75 kcal/kg BW 0.75/day) (McNab, 2000; Nagy, 1999). This level of energy expenditure is lacking from a captive environment, due to a less active lifestyle and diminished need to hunt and defend territory. Hence, the formulated diet should be a reduced quantity from what is consumed naturally. The less active lifestyle in captivity can lead to boredom, stereotypic behaviours and an overall poor condition (Lindburg, 1988). Substitute enrichment activities should be offered to captive lions to increase overall energy expenditure, replacing that used for hunting in the wild.
Lions are opportunistic predators and will acquire roughly 40% of their intake from scavenging (Haas et al, 2005). Hunting may occur individually or as a group and stalking time in Kalahari lions ranged from 7 minutes for smaller prey, to 30 minutes for larger preferred prey. (Eloff, 1984). The majority of prey hunted by African lions ranges between 40 and 250kg. Given a choice, lions will select larger prey (190-559kg), preferred species include wildebeest, gemsbok, buffalo, giraffe and zebra (Hayward & Kerley, 2005). Lions may spend several hours consuming large prey (Visser, 2009).
Wild lions are inactive for the majority of the day (between 20-21 hours). Approximately 2 hours is spent walking and 1 hour eating. 80 – 100% of activity occurs at night (Haas et al, 2005). Kalahari lions were reported to leave an average of 1/3 of the carcass (Eloff, 1984), whilst captive lions consumed 90% of hind limbs and all of the skin offered (Smith et al, 2006). Smuts, 1979, found traces of soil and grass alongside vertebrate carcasses in lion stomachs, which is likely to have come from the stomachs of the prey consumed.
Considerable sums of energy are used to capture and kill prey in the wild. Predicted field metabolic rates for wild lions are 4.5 x BMR (4.5 x 50-75 kcal/kg BW 0.75/day) (McNab, 2000; Nagy, 1999). This level of energy expenditure is lacking from a captive environment, due to a less active lifestyle and diminished need to hunt and defend territory. Hence, the formulated diet should be a reduced quantity from what is consumed naturally. The less active lifestyle in captivity can lead to boredom, stereotypic behaviours and an overall poor condition (Lindburg, 1988). Substitute enrichment activities should be offered to captive lions to increase overall energy expenditure, replacing that used for hunting in the wild.