What Is the Difference Between African & Asian Lions?

Size

• Asian adult males are, for the most part, smaller than their African counterparts. According to Animal Planet, the largest recorded Asian lion measured 9 1/2 feet in length, whereas the largest known African lion was nearly 11 feet long. Asian and African lionesses both weigh between 240 and 365 pounds. Adult male Asian lions generally weigh between 350 and 420 pounds, making them lighter than African lions, which average 410 pounds and can weigh up to 500.

Skin and Hair

• An adult male with a sparse mane whose ears are visible is most likely an Asian lion, as African lions have longer and fuller manes. Though less substantial, the manes of Asian lions are often darker than those of their African relatives. In addition, Asian lions have longer tails and thicker tufts of hair on their elbows. African lions also lack the lengthwise fold of skin along the belly that distinguishes the Asian subspecies.

Prey

• The diet of lions in the Gir Forest is largely composed of chital deer, which weigh approximately 110 pounds. Asian lions also feed on antelope, wild boar and water buffalo. Lions that make their home in the African savanna, however, must subdue prey such as wildebeest and zebra, which weigh between 600 and 800 pounds, and on occasion, African buffalo, which can weigh up to 2,000 pounds.

Behavior

• Most lions live in social groups known as prides. African prides have at least one male that defends it from outside males. Asian males, however, tend to be solitary and seek prides only to feed and mate. Asian prides seldom have more than two adult females, while African prides will include four to six. The former perhaps have fewer members because they prey on animals that are significantly smaller and therefore require less cooperation for hunting.

Conservation Status

• In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded the status of the Asian lion from critically endangered to endangered. Though only one wild sub-population with 175 mature individuals remains, it is considered stable. Poaching is nonetheless a threat to Asian lions.

  African lions have a more extensive range and are therefore faring better than their Asian cousins. The IUCN classifies African lions as vulnerable. According to Defenders of Wildlife, the African lion population has been reduced to fewer than 21,000 individuals.