Celebrating World Lion Day 2024

Here at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, we are roaring into World Lion Day. This significant day was founded in 2013 by Derek and Beverly Joubert with the intention of raising awareness about the challenges lions face in the wild.

Before we dive into why World Lion Day is so important, let's learn some interesting facts about lions. 

Did you know…

1. A lion can’t actually roar until it is two years old. Once a lion can start roaring, it’s so loud you can hear it five miles away!
2. Lions are social animals and they are able to empathise with other members of their pride. An example of this, they experience contagious yawning just like humans.
3. Lions can eat up to 40kg of meat in a single meal, and their tongues have sharp-pointed rasps, called papillae, which are used to scrape meat off the bones. 
4. Lions mainly hunt at night, and even during storms! The noise, rain and wind makes it harder for prey to see and hear them, which increases their chances of a successful hunt.  

Our Pride of lions are magnificent animals, and a true wonder to see. It is important to acknowledge that World Lion Day is an opportunity to raise awareness and increase understanding of these animals.  

Are Lions Endangered?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) have listed lions as ‘vulnerable’ on their Red List – this is the second most critical category of concern. This is because many populations of lions are in decline, due to human conflict. Sadly, in some parts of Africa, Lions are classed as “critically endangered.”

Lion populations are struggling because...

• Loss of habitat
• Illegal wildlife trade
• Poor regulation of legal trade
• Disease
• Climate change

Across Africa, lions now occupy less than 92% of the land they once did. This loss of habitat has severe consequences. Lions no longer have access to the vast stretches of savanna grasslands they need to find food, viable mating partners, and thrive as a pride.

Unfortunately, the illegal wildlife trade is the fourth biggest illegal trade in the world. The poaching industry has been boosted in recent years, and lion bones are in high demand as they are being passed off for tiger bones for medicinal products.

With lions, and other animals, facing these problems, it’s important that we do what we can to help their population. We need to work together to ensure that lions habitats are protected, they have enough prey, and to minimize poaching.

Our pride of Lions

At Noah’s Ark, we are home to 3 African Lions. Arusha, and her two sons Kojo and Tau. Our lions are ambassadors for their wild counterparts, and we hope they inspire visitors to love these animals and advocate for their futures.