What Are Lions Afraid Of?

Lions are the kings of the jungle, the apex predators of the African savannahs. Their imposing size and ferocious roar strike fear into the hearts of prey animals. However, even the mighty lion has its own fears and weaknesses.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: Lions have a healthy respect for certain animals that can injure or kill them, like hyenas, elephants, rhinos, hippos, Cape buffaloes and porcupines. Lions also avoid situations that put their cubs at risk.

In this comprehensive article, we will explore what things lions are afraid of and why. We’ll cover the animals that intimidate lions, natural threats like fires, as well as human-related dangers that lions rightly fear.

We’ll also look at how lionesses fiercely protect their young and what fears may be embedded deep in the lion psyche.

Predators and Dangerous Prey That Intimidate Lions

Hyenas

Hyenas are one of the biggest threats to lions. These opportunistic carnivores will readily steal kills from lion prides. With their powerful jaws and greater numbers, hyenas can overwhelm lions and force them to abandon carcasses.

Direct confrontations between lions and hyenas often result in injuries on both sides. Though lions are stronger, hyenas are more tenacious. According to an authoritative study, spotted hyenas steal 17% of lion kills in the Serengeti.

Their harassment can significantly reduce the amount of food available to lion prides.

Elephants

Full grown African elephants can weigh over 10,000 pounds. These massive pachyderms are a serious danger, especially when lions threaten their young. Elephants will charge aggressively and trample or gore lions with their tusks if provoked.

In some cases, elephants have even been observed throwing lions through the air with their trunks. Lions typically avoid tangling with these gigantic beasts. Though lions may attempt to take down baby elephants, they steer clear of aggressive adults.

Statistics show that only 1% of elephant deaths in the Serengeti are caused by lion attacks. Lions will usually flee rather than fight when elephants decide to get defensive.

Cape Buffaloes

Also known as African buffaloes, Cape buffaloes are large bovine herd animals that weigh over 1 ton. These creatures are notoriously bad-tempered and have been called “the most dangerous of Africa’s ‘Big 5′”.

Cape buffaloes will aggressively charge anything they perceive as a threat – including lions. Their long, sharp horns can severely injure or kill lions during clashes. Cape buffaloes have even been observed teaming up and attacking lions cooperatively.

According to estimates, Cape buffaloes are responsible for killing around 200 lions each year in Africa. Lions typically only prey on buffalo calves, avoiding confrontation with volatile adults whenever possible.

Porcupines

Though not aggressive hunters, porcupines still pose a prickly threat to lions. A lion that attacks a porcupine risks getting a face and paws full of quills. Removing porcupine quills from lion paws can be an agonizing process.

The quills can pierce through skin and muscle, working deeper into flesh over time. There have even been reports of lions dying after porcupine quills migrated inward and punctured vital organs! For self-preservation, lions will usually avoid tangling with these spiky creatures after learning a painful lesson early in life.

According to wildlife experts, lions attacked by porcupines have been spotted limping for months afterward. Ouch!

Environmental Threats Lions Avoid

Fires

Wildfires can be extremely dangerous for lions and other wildlife. Lions will go to great lengths to avoid major fire events. The flames can spread quickly through dry savanna grasslands, and the smoke makes it hard for lions to breathe and see.

Fires also destroy the vegetation that provides cover for lions when hunting. After a big fire, it takes time for the habitat to recover, leading to scarcity of prey for the lions. According to wildlife experts, lions have been observed quickly fleeing from the path of advancing wildfires.

They seem to have an innate understanding of the immense threat posed by the raging flames.

Droughts and Lack of Prey

Extended droughts in Africa lead to lack of water and loss of vegetation. This makes it tremendously difficult for lions to find food. Antelopes, zebras, and other prey animal populations plummet in times of drought.

With less grass and dried up watering holes, lions are forced to roam farther in search of increasingly scarce prey. Dehydration and starvation become real dangers. Lions will often abandon drought-stricken areas entirely and go in search of territories with better hunting prospects.

According to widelife conservation groups, excessive drought conditions and prey scarcity can mean life or death for lion prides. Sustained lack of rain is one of the most serious environmental threats facing lions today.

Floods

Although lions can swim if necessary, they strongly prefer to avoid it. Severe flooding can be extremely problematic and even fatal for lions. When heavy rains cause rivers and streams to swell and breach their banks, lions are displaced from their usual habitats.

Prides have drowned attempting to cross powerful floodwaters. Flooding also forces prey animals to disperse into small pockets across the landscape. This scattering effect makes hunting much more difficult for the lions. They expend crucial energy traversing long distances in search of food.

Weakened prides are more susceptible to disease during floods. Conservationists say strategic human intervention to provide lions sanctuary on higher ground during catastrophic flooding helps reduce casualties.

Dangers from Humans

Hunting

Lions have been hunted by humans for centuries. In ancient Rome, lions were captured from the wild and forced to fight gladiators for entertainment. Thousands of wild lions were killed in these spectacles.

Even though such practices have been outlawed, lions are still illegally hunted or poached in many parts of their range.

Trophy hunting of lions also poses a major threat. Wealthy hunters pay tens of thousands of dollars to shoot and kill lions for sport. trophy hunting is often justified as having conservation benefits by providing financial incentives to local communities.

However, studies have found little evidence that trophy hunting benefits lion conservation.

Habitat Loss

The conversion of lion habitats into agricultural land and human settlements has led to a drastic decline in lion populations over the past century. As the human population grows in Africa, more and more natural land is converted for human use.

This habitat loss and fragmentation isolates lion populations and increases conflicts with humans.

For example, in Nigeria, lion populations have plummeted by over 85% in just two decades due to habitat loss. Conservationists warn that preserving connected habitats will be crucial for the long-term survival of lion populations across Africa.

Poisoning

Lions are also threatened by poisoning from pesticides and poison baits. Pesticides applied to crops can accumulate in lion’s prey items, leading to poisoning. Poison baits are also used by livestock owners to kill predators like lions that may prey on their animals.

These poisonings can swiftly decimate local lion prides.

For instance, a single poisoning incident killed five of the famous desert lions in Namibia in 2018. Educating farmers on alternative methods to protect livestock is crucial to ending this threat.

Poaching

The illegal wildlife trade poses another major threat, with lions poached for their bones, claws, and teeth. Products made from lion body parts are used in some Asian traditional medicine practices or sold as exotic decorations.

International trade in lion parts was banned in 2016, but illicit poaching continues, with lion bone smuggling on the rise. Stronger law enforcement and crackdowns on trafficking networks are needed to combat poaching.

Fears Related to Protection of Cubs

Infanticide

Infanticide is perhaps the greatest fear of lionesses when it comes to protecting their cubs. Male lions will kill cubs that are not their own offspring when taking over a new pride, as it causes the females to go into estrous and breed with the new males.

Lionesses go to great lengths to hide their cubs when new males are in the vicinity, often leaving the pride temporarily to give birth in isolation. Though heartbreaking, lionesses understand this is necessary for the survival of the species.

Some estimates indicate up to 67% of cubs may fall victim to infanticide when new males take over a pride (1).

Lack of Seclusion for Birth

Unlike many feline species, lionesses rarely have the luxury of seclusion when giving birth. Their prides are tight-knit groups that work together to protect territory and hunt prey. When a lioness goes into labor, she must drop out of sight from the rest of the pride temporarily to birth and nurse cubs until they are strong enough to keep up.

But the lioness cannot go far from the pride’s range, making it difficult to find an ideal denning site. Exposure leaves newborn cubs vulnerable to predators like hyenas that will snatch unattended cubs.

Not having a secure birthing den is incredibly stressful for lionesses trying to welcome new cubs.

Starvation of Cubs

Feeding a litter of fast-growing cub tummies is not an easy task, even for an accomplished huntress like a lioness. Cubs have a nearly 50% mortality rate in their first year (2), with starvation being a leading cause.

Lionesses may struggle to find enough prey, especially when game is scarce during droughts or if she is still restrained by nursing young cubs and cannot partake in hunts often. Providing for cubs is a year-round stressor for lionesses as cubs will continue nursing until they are 9-12 months old.

A missed meal could have dire impacts on a tiny cub. Though it pains her, a lioness may even have to sacrifice weaker cubs to better feed the stronger ones in lean times.

Innate or Instinctive Fears

Startle Response

Like most animals, lions have innate fears that are hardwired into their biology to help them survive in the wild. One key fear is their startle response – when something sudden or unfamiliar happens, it triggers a fearful reaction and adrenaline rush so they can fight or flee from potential threats.

Studies show that when lions hear an extremely loud or aberrant sound out of nowhere, it can make them jump in surprise. Their eyes widen, their ears perk up, and they may recoil defensively or even bolt away. This instinct kicks in before they rationally assess if there is any real danger.

It helps lions react instantly to the unknown, an essential survival tactic when living amongst prey and competitors in the African bush.

Unfamiliar Noises

Lions also tend to be wary of strange sounds they have never encountered before. Unfamiliar noises like very loud engines, blaring horns, human screams, or odd animal calls can trigger a fear response, making lions retreat, hide, or act aggressively to the ambiguous auditory threat even if there is no tangible peril.

For example, in 2019, villagers in Gujarat, India discovered that playing the sound of barking dogs through loudspeakers helped scare lions away and reduced dangerous confrontations near their homes (source).

The odd, loud noise made the lions uneasy and more cautious about approaching the village area.

Sudden Movements

Lastly, lions have an innate fear of unexpected and abrupt movements which may signify impending aggression from other animals. Sudden jerking motions can trigger apprehension, making lions either freeze up, flee, or attack out of an instinctive feeling of vulnerability.

For example, visitors on safaris are always cautioned not to wave their arms, stand up quickly inside vehicles, or make other hasty actions lions could interpret as offensive. By respecting lions’ innate reaction to strange, abrupt movements, dangerous incidents can be avoided.

With some awareness and care, we can appreciate wildlife without causing undue stress on lion populations struggling to survive amidst humanity’s encroaching presence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while lions are apex predators and kings of the jungle, they have very real fears when it comes to protecting themselves, their prides and their cubs. Intimidating animals like hyenas and elephants pose a direct threat that lions avoid.

Environmental factors like droughts or human encroachment also endanger lion populations. On an instinctual level, sudden movements and noises can scare lions due to hard-wired self-preservation instincts.

By understanding what causes lions to feel fear, we gain greater insight into lion psychology and behavior.