who hunts for food male or female lions
Lion Young lions first display stalking behaviour around three months of age, although they do not participate in hunting until they are almost a year old. They begin to hunt effectively when nearing the age of two.[106] Single lions are capable of bringing down prey like zebra and wildebeest, which can be twice their own weight, while hunting larger prey like giraffes and buffalo alone is too much of a risk. Cooperative-hunting lions are usually successful.[88][100] In prides, lionesses do most of the hunting.[88] In typical hunts, each lioness has a favoured position in the group, either stalking prey on the "wing" then attacking, or moving a smaller distance in the centre of the group and capturing prey in flight from other lionesses. Males attached to prides do not usually participate in group hunting.[107] However, some evidence suggests that pride males are just as successful as females; they are solo hunters who ambush prey in small bush.[108] Lions are not particularly known for their stamina â€“ for instance, a lioness' heart makes up only 0.57% of her body weight (a male's is about 0.45% of his body weight), whereas a hyena's heart is close to 1% of its body weight.[109] Thus, they only run fast in short bursts,[110] and need to be close to their prey before starting the attack. They take advantage of factors that reduce visibility; many kills take place near some form of cover or at night.[111] In addition, since lions are such ambush hunters, humans farming in the vicinity have recently found that lions are easily discouraged if they think their prey has spotted them. To protect their cattle from such attacks with that knowledge in mind, farmers have found that all that they have to do is simply paint eyes on the hindquarters of each cow, which is usually enough for hunting lions to think they are spotted and move to easier prey.[112]