Preservation of
African Lions
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
What is an African Lion?
 What makes the African Lion so unique and
beautiful?
 Where does an African Lion come from?
 Why is it important to preserve the African Lion?
 What challenges or threats does the lion face?
 What is extinction and what effect does it have on
our eco-system?
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
Students will be able to understand the
importance of preserving the wild.
 Students will be able to identify, locate and
describe where the African Lion lives.
 Students will be able to define extinction and
understand it’s effects on the eco-system.
 Students will learn what an African Lion is and how
it lives.
 Students will be able to explain what makes a Lion
special and beautiful.
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THE AFRICAN LION
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African Lions Live in
groups called PRIDES
They are the only member
of the cat family that lives
in a group
A pride usually includes 2
male lions, 12 females,
and their cubs
The young males within a
pride eventually leave to
take over their own pride
headed by another male
A FEMALE LION
1.
2.
3.
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A MALE LION
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2.
3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmb_HtuugfY
LET’S COMPARE! CLICK THE LINK AND LIST
THINGS YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT EACH LION
MALE
FEMALE
BEAUTY OF A LION
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The body of a lion is
extremely muscular
Including it’s tail a lion can
grow up to nine feet long
A lion can weigh anywhere
from 265-420lbs
Even with it’s great size and
weight the lion is very difficult
to hear coming because of
it’s unique soft pads on it’s
paws which keep their
movements quiet
A lion can run up to 30 miles
per hour on these quiet
paws!
HUNTING AT NIGHT
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Lions have extraordinary
eyes and are great hunters
at night
The eyes of a lion contain a
reflective coating that will
even reflect moonlight
enabling them to see every
possible movement in the
dark
Unlike humans who can
move their eyes from side
to side a lion needs to
move it’s head to see
things that aren’t in it’s
direct line of sight
SENSE OF SMELL
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Lions have a great sense of smell and use it
to mark their territory. This sense of smell
helps them find prey and also find kills made
by predators. They scare off the predators
and steal the meal. Lions steal 40% of all the
food they eat! All lions contain a Jacobson’s
organ inside of their mouth that they use to
help them smell. The lion will grimace
opening it’s mouth to let the air into the
organ.
WHAT DOES A LION EAT?
Name:
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Label the Animals
Word Bank
Leopard Baboon
Cheetah Antelope
Hyena
Wildebeest
Zebra
Giraffe
LION HABITAT
Use your Google Earth App on your IPAD or Google Earth on the internet to locate
some of the countries that the African Lion Range Falls into.
African Lion Range
THE SAVANNAH
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The African Savannah is where you can
find most of the lions remaining in the
world. Africa has a wet season and dry
season. In the wet season there is an
average of 15-20 inches of rain. In the dry
season there is only an average of 4
inches of rain fall, and no rain at all from
December to February.
There are 45 species of mammal in Africa
and some of them help to feed the Lions.
All of the mammals of the African Savanna
are co-dependent living out their lives
together in freedom as they fight to
survive.
Within the Savannah lions enjoy scrub,
woodlands, or grasslands
They like to also be near streams this way
they can catch prey off guard while they
stop for a drink
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Check out the Savannah
on this link!
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=lV_zhl0KKnc
PRESERVING THE LIONS
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Check out this video from National
Geographic!
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/
video/player/animals/mammalsanimals/cats/animate-url-bci.html
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Lions have declined at alarming rates.
We had 100,000 lions in the 1980’s
and now lion population is down to
about 20,000
If we continue at the pace we are at
now, lions are doomed for extinction
within the next ten to fifteen years
Take a look at this scary timeline from
the National Geographic!
http://animals.nationalgeographic.co
m/animals/big-cats/lion-declinemap/
Poaching, hunting, and disease have
decimated the lion population.
Many people hunt the animals because
the lions come on their land and eat
their animals.
It is difficult for the lion population to
grow quickly because when a pride is
taken over by a male they kill all of the
cubs and it can take up to 18mnths to
produce new cubs
LIONS FACE EXTINCTION
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Extinction- is the end of an organism or of a group of
organisms, normally a species. The moment of
extinction is generally considered to be the death of the
last individual of the species, although the capacity to
breed and recover may have been lost before this point.
Extinct is forever and never again will that specific
animal or organism roam the earth again.
Check out these animals that you could have enjoyed if
only they were still around today by clicking the link
below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRN1Cu_6zlM
REMEMBER ME!?
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I am the king of the
Jungle. I roam the earth
as the fiercest predator
alive.
I am 42ft long and 13ft
tall.
Extremely sharp teethe
line my mouth.
The earth rumbles as I
walk on my two legs.
My arms are small and
serve very little function.
Who can I be?!
Click here for a hint!
I AM AN EXTINCT TYRANNOSAURAS REX
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Imagine how fascinating it
would be to go to the zoo and
see a T-Rex roaming the
forest
Imagine if you could travel
the world to see living
dinosaurs eating, sleeping,
and prowling the jungle
The only problem is this is not
possible. The only place you
can find a dinosaur now is in
a book, on a website, or in
the movies
This could happen to the
African Lion
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN LIONS BECOME
EXTINCT?
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If lions become extinct it
will start a very large and
sweeping change in the
savannah.
African lions control the
populations of many of
the animals such as
zebras, wildebeests,
giraffe, and antelope
All of these animals are
herbivores and therefore
eat leaves and grass.
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If these animals
populations grow out of
control then their
eventually won’t be enough
food for these animals
causing mass deaths in
the savannah!
Every animal is connected
to another animals survival
If the top of the food chain
goes extinct so will most of
the animals in it’s habitat
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It is time to concentrate
on preservation and
conservation
Humans can’t survive
without animals, plants,
or water
If we continue at the
pace we are the African
Savannah can turn into
a parking lot
OR
CULMINATING ACTIVITY
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Choose two of the letters
A. You’re a male lion in the African Savannah. You’ve
just left your pride and are looking for your own. Write a
story about your trials and adventures using the
knowledge you’ve learned.
B. Draw a picture of what you think the African
Savannah would look like if lions were extinct.
C. Write a song that could be used to teach children
about the issues facing the lion today.
D. Using the information you’ve learned create a scene
in a diorama involving a pride in the African Savannah.