The lion is the second largest cat after the tiger and thus the largest land predator in Africa. A lion male has a body length of 170 to 250 centimeters, a shoulder height of up to 123 centimeters and a tail length of about one meter. Adult male animals have an average body weight of 190 kilograms. The fluctuation range is from 150 to 225 kg, in exceptional cases up to 272 kg.
Females are significantly smaller with 140 to 175 centimeters of body length, a shoulder height of 100 centimeters and a tail of 85 centimeters and have a body weight of about 126 kilograms. On average, lions have a greater shoulder height than tigers, but overall are a bit shorter. The largest lions today live in southern Africa, the smallest in Asia. In zoos and circuses held males reach due to good feeding occasionally also a weight of over 300 kilograms.