A lioness resting and while tourists a 4x4 photograph Orient Express them constantly in the vicinity of Camp Savute Elephant Camp by Orient Express in Botswana in the Chobe National Park. The lion (Panthera leo) is a carnivorous mammal of the Felidae family and one of the species of the genus Panthera. Some males, exceptionally large, weighing up to 250 kg, 3 making them the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia with a critically endangered population in northwest India, having disappeared from North Africa, the Middle East and western Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10 000 years ago, in large terrestrial mammals, the lion was the most widespread after humans. They were found in most of Africa, much of Eurasia from western Europe to India, and America, from the Yukon to southern Mexico. If they survive childhood difficulties, lionesses living in a secure habitat such as Kruger National Park can often reach the age of 12-14 years, whereas lions seldom live more than eight years. However, cases of lionesses are known to have lived twenty years in the wild. In captivity, both males and females can live over twenty years. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of females who have a family relationship and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. The lion is an apex and keystone, although it can have a scavenger behavior if given the opportunity. While lions do not normally hunt humans selectively, some of them may become cannibals and seek human prey. The lion is a vulnerable species in its range African over the past two decades has suffered population declines, possibly irreversible, of between 30% and 50%, 1 populations are not viable outside reserves and national parks delimited. Although the cause of this decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the most important concerns. They have had lions in captivity since the days of ancient Rome and from the late eighteenth century have been something very sought after and exhibited in zoos worldwide. Zoos themselves are collaborating in breeding programs to protect the endangered Asiatic subspecies. The males are very easily distinguished thanks to its mane, making her head one of the most widely known animal symbols in human culture. Appears often in literature, sculpture, painting, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature.