Keeping Watch

• Out of Africa comes Simba, which is the Swahili word for lion meaning king or aggressive.
• When we use the word lionhearted we use it to depict a person who has the characteristics of being brave or courageous as those are traits that are inherent in the lion itself.
• Male lions measure between 5.6-8.3 feet in length and weigh between 330 – 570 pounds.
• Females measure between 4.6-5.7 feet in length and will weigh in somewhere between 270-400 pounds.
• The males identifying mane around their neck serves several purposes:
  1. It can help protect his neck in battle.
  2. It can intimidate other males.
  3. It can serve to impress the females.
• The speed of the lion is phenomenal as they can run for short periods of up to 50 mph and can leap up to 36 feet. It has been said they can run the length of a football field in 6 seconds.
• These animals are social and live in groups known as “prides” consisting of between 3-30 other lions.
• They sleep for long periods at a time, up to 21 hours.
• These massive animals have a lifespan in the wild of some 15 years.

PBS 9/30/2020