BODY SIZE AND MASS OF NGORONGORO CRATER LIONS

[Dr Panthera]

I spent a few weeks in Kenya and Tanzania researching lion feeding ecology with respect to migratory wildebeest and I did spend some time in the Crater and was amazed by its lions.
First we have to differentiate by the 8990 square kilometres ngorongoro conservation area where Maasai tribes live , prey is sparse, and the lions are of average size( 160-200 kg) and the 260 square kilometres Ngorongoro Crater where 2400 meters walls enclose it and it harbours a very high density of herbivores making it lion paradise
Of the 62 lions that live in the crater I saw six lioness that rivalled the Serengeti males in size and two massive males , in scientific literature we only have the male measured by Ingelsson of 235kg, I was told of the weight of two males that died there by my guide ..both in the 240's kg , I will ask the Tanzania wildlife institute to provide us with more info if available
But to the naked eye these are likely to be the biggest lions in the world and along with some of Bengal tigers in their northern range ( Nepal, Terai, Assam) the largest cats though we need large scientific data before confirming such observation Reply