The African Lion (Panthera leo), or simply Lion, is a large African felid. It is an adoptable animal in all three main Zoo Tycoon instalments, as well as most of the side-games.
Description[]
The African Lion is the second largest species of extant cat, after the tiger. Despite its name, the species could also originally be found in Europe and Asia, although only a small population in India now exists outside Africa. The lion is easily identifiable by the prominent mane of hair around the neck region of males, which acts as an indication of how healthy an individual is, with a full, dark mane indicating that a lion is in his prime. Lions also feature a tuft of hair at the end of their tails, not seen in any other cat species.
The African Lion can live in a variety of habitats, but is most common on the African Savannah. It is an apex predator, preying on a wide variety of animals, typically ungulates such as zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, gemsbok and giraffes. Unusually amongst cats, lions live in large groups, or "prides", consisting of a group of closely related females, their cubs and a few adult males who may or may not be related to each other. Lions will also often hunt in groups, with females doing most of the hunting.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The African Lion is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon and is available in the base game. In Freeform mode, it is one of eight animals of the base game that is initially available without research or downloading. It is present in a few scenarios, such as Saving The Great Cats.
Lions are Savannah animals, but their enclosures nonetheless require some sand, dirt and fresh water to keep them happy. Although a single lion does not require much space, they prefer at least three animals in their enclosure to stay happy. Lions are also very easy to breed, so are a good source of income.
The lion has its own animal toy items, the small and large lion rocks.
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
The African Lion, simply named Lion, is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2. It is once again a Savannah animal and requires 2-1/2 stars in order to be unlocked.
Lions are able to hunt together as a pride and attack animals such as the Giraffe, Wildebeest, African Buffalo, Thomson's Gazelle, and Common Zebra. It is a carnivore and a swimmer. A number of toys and enrichment objects are available and guests enjoy watching lions play. Although they are predators, if kept happy with enough food and space, lions can share a large exhibit with almost any of the other Savannah animals. Two cubs are usually born after a gestation period of around 18 days. Maturity is reached in approximately 3 months. Males will breed with more than one lioness. Their average lifespan is 11 months.
Zoo Tycoon (Xbox)[]
In the Xbox edition of Zoo Tycoon, the African Lion is split into the West African Lion, Transvaal Lion, Masai Lion, Barbary Lion, Congo Lion, and Katanga Lion, in addition to the Asiatic Lion.
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Other Games[]
DS Games[]
The African Lion is an adoptable animal in both Zoo Tycoon DS and Zoo Tycoon 2 DS, in both games featuring similar requirements to its main version counterpart. In Zoo Tycoon 2 DS, it has a fame level of 3 and must be researched in order to be adopted.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile[]
The African lion is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile, although the version of the game with the lion is not currently known or available. The lion is only known to be in an unknown version of the game because of a single image of it featured in PC Magazine and some review sites.
Zoo Tycoon Friends[]
The lion was an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon Friends.
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game[]
The African lion is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game. It is classed as a Level 1, Main Species carnivore in the savannah biome.
As a Level 1 animal, the lion has no adoption requirements and can be adopted by any player at the beginning of the game. It is a social species, requiring a minimum of three animals in order to be exhibited, but will not be happy unless there are at least five individuals. Typically only a single male can be exhibited, although the lion will also tolerate living in an all-male bachelor group. It also requires a large exhibit with plenty of free space. If happy enough, a female lion will give birth to two cubs, which she will then nurture for the rest of the season.
The lion is also part of The Serengeti Conservation Project along with the plains zebra, common ostrich, Masai giraffe, black rhinoceros, blue wildebeest and the Fischer's lovebird.
Gallery[]
Zoo Tycoon[]
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
Zoo Tycoon 2 DS[]
Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile[]
Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game[]
Trivia[]
- The African Lion has been traditionally split into numerous subspecies (including the Asiatic Lion, despite this subspecies not being African), although the validity of some of these subspecies has been questioned. The subspecies featured in the Xbox edition of Zoo Tycoon were the subspecies accepted as valid at the time.
- A genetic study conducted in 2017 suggested there are two subspecies of lion, the northern and southern species. The traditional African lion represents the southern subspecies, and the founder of most modern purebred captive stock is from this subspecies. The Asiatic lion breeding program is based on the northern subspecies, which also includes the extinct Barbary lion.
- The African lion is one of 3 animals to appear on the Carnivores Disease Event Card in Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game. The other two being the Snow leopard and American black bear.
- The lion also appears on the Broadcast TV Show, High Fertility, and The King of the Savannah Event Cards.
- The African Lion is one of only six sexually dimorphic animals in Zoo Tycoon: The Board Game. In early builds of the game, it did not feature sexual dimorphism, with a designated lioness meeple being added after a successful stretch goal.
- The stretch goal for the lioness was revealed on October 30th, 2022 for 285,000 CHF, later reduced to 280,000 CHF the same day. The goal was reached just one week later on November 6th, 2022.
| Zoo Tycoon DS animals | |
|---|---|
| Standard Animals | African Buffalo • African Elephant • African Lion • African Warthog • American Bighorn Sheep • American Bison • Arctic Wolf • Bengal Tiger • Black Bear • Black Leopard • Black Rhinoceros • California Sea Lion • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Clouded Leopard • Common Wildebeest • Dromedary Camel • Emperor Penguin • Gemsbok • Giant Anteater • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Gray Wolf • Greater Flamingo • Grizzly Bear • Hippopotamus • Ibex • Jaguar • Leopard • Lowland Gorilla • Mandrill • Markhor • Moose • Okapi • Olive Baboon • Ostrich • Plains Zebra • Polar Bear • Red Kangaroo • Saltwater Crocodile • Siberian Tiger • Snow Leopard • Spotted Hyena • Thomson's Gazelle • White Bengal Tiger |
| Unlockable Content | Asian Elephant • Kouprey • Onager • Orangutan • Unicorn |
| Zoo Tycoon 2 DS animals | |
|---|---|
| Standard Animals | African Elephant • Black Panther • Black Rhinoceros • California Sea Lion • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Dolphin • Dromedary Camel • Galapagos Giant Tortoise • Giant Sable Antelope • Gray Wolf • Greater Flamingo • Grizzly Bear • Komodo Dragon • Lion • Masai Giraffe • Moose • Nile Crocodile • Ostrich • Orangutan • Polar Bear • Pygmy Hippopotamus • Red Kangaroo • Spanish Lynx • Wolverine • Zebra |
| Star Animals | American Beaver • Emperor Penguin • Giant Panda • Koala • Mountain Gorilla • Sea Otter |
| Amazing Animals | Saber-toothed Tiger • Triceratops • Unicorn • Yeti |
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile animals | |
|---|---|
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile | African Elephant • Bengal Tiger • Black Rhinoceros • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Lion • Lowland Gorilla |
| Marine Mania Mobile | Bottlenose Dolphin • Giant Pacific Octopus • Great White Shark • Green Sea Turtle • Manta Ray • Orca • Rockhopper Penguin |