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Celebrating World Lion Day With Preschoolers

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World Lion Day is celebrated each year on August 10^th to raise global awareness of the declining population of lions, find ways to protect the big cat’s natural environment, and educate people who live near lions on how to protect themselves and avoid accidents that might end up in lives lost, both humans and big cats.  

For millions of years, lions roamed freely all across Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.  Today, lions have only two natural habitats left: Africa and Asia. Habitat loss and hunting are putting them at risk. Their population has been reduced by 50% over the last four decades, and researchers estimate that only 30,000 to 100,000 lions remain on the planet. Because of that, the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species has listed lions as a vulnerable species.  If we ignore this situation and do nothing, these majestic cats could become endangered and even extinct.

The only way to protect lions is by educating people, starting with our young. Since our preschoolers are our future, we can start with them and their families. To help, I have included a FREE 16-page World Lion Day activities pack with Literacy, Science, Math, and Fine Motor activities for your preschoolers, available for download at the end of this post.

History of World Lion Day

The World Lion Day celebration was initiated by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, a husband-and-wife team with a passion for big cats, who founded the Big Cat Rescue, which is the world’s largest accredited sanctuary for big cats.

In 2009, they partnered with National Geographic to protect the remaining big cats still living in the wild, not only for their well-being but also because lions are key to maintaining ecological balance. 

After years of working together, World Lion Day was born and celebrated for the first time in 2013.

Facts About Lions

As I mentioned before, we, as preschool teachers and parents, have the responsibility to educate ourselves, our children, and our families about these majestic cats and what we can do to protect them. These are some facts about lions that you can pass along:

• The lion’s scientific name is Panthera Leo.
• Lions are the second-largest big cat species in the world (behind the Asian tiger).
• Lions weigh between 300 and 550 pounds.
• They are extremely fast runners, but they can’t run this fast for very long.
• Lions tend to dominate cheetahs and leopards, which is another reason they are considered kings and queens of the jungle.
• Lions can range from a light buff color to a deep reddish-brown. 
• Lions have a muscular build with a short, round head and ears, and a tufty tail.
• Male lions are easy to recognize thanks to their distinctive manes.
• You can hear male lion roars up to 5 miles away.
• Lions are carnivores, which means they eat meat and hunt other animals for food.
• Lionesses are better hunters than males and do most of the hunting for the pride.  Lionesses do most of the hunting.  They hunt in groups, wait for prey to come closer, then pounce on it.
• Their natural habitats are the African savannas and grasslands, near water bodies.  A very small population lives in India’s Gir Forest National Park.
• Males patrol their territory and protect their young.
• Baby Lions are called cubs, lionets, or whelps.
• Lions are mammals.
• The lioness is the female, and she has a very nurturing nature, often caring for a cub that has been neglected as if it were her own.
• It is not uncommon for two lionesses to have their cubs at the same time, as they can be raised together.
• A lioness usually gives birth to between one and four lion babies.
• Lion cubs have light spots on their fur when they are born. These fade when they grow up, and they help camouflage or hide them when they’re young.
• Lions live up to 16 years in the wild.
• They are social and the only known type of cat that lives in groups called prides.
• When lions breed with tigers, the resulting hybrids are known as ligers and tigons. Lion and leopard hybrids are also known as leopons, and lion and jaguar hybrids as jaglions.
• The two main types of lions are African and Asian.
• Among the threats lions face are human encroachment on their wildlands, which is reducing their food, and the increasingly popular “trophy hunting”.
• Lions are a vulnerable species.

How to Celebrate World Lion Day

There are several things you can do to celebrate this important day, both personally and as a preschool teacher or parent.  Some ideas I can give you are:

• Organize a fundraiser at your school or among your friends to donate to any organization protecting these animals, such as Big Cat Rescue, Save Animals Facing Extinction, African Conservation Foundation, Defenders of Wildlife, International Fund for Animal Welfare, LionAid, African Parks, Lion Guardians, Nikela, Saving The Lion Foundation, and Ewaso Lions.
• Create a lesson plan to teach your preschoolers about lions and their importance in a balanced ecosystem, and instill in them the love for these majestic cats and the desire to become their defenders.
• Have your preschoolers do lion crafts.  You can find 30 cute and easy ones on Emma Owl’s website.
• Invite your preschoolers to dress as lions or wear lion-inspired clothes on World Lion Day, then parade around the school or your neighborhood.
• Invite your preschoolers’ parents to use their social media platforms to promote lion protection.  The organizers of World Lion Day also want to make it as easy as possible for anyone to get involved in supporting these majestic beasts and protecting them for future generations.  You can use #WorldLionDay or a code found on their website to embed images on your web pages and social media platforms. Visitors can then click the link to be forwarded to the World Lion Day website to donate to various projects.
• Organize a field trip to your local zoo to observe lions, or invite your families to go on their own and do the same.
• Another way to help is by “liking” the World Lion Day official Facebook page and following @BigCatRescue on Twitter.  Adding external links to your feed will help the World Lion Day website generate organic traffic for free, massively reducing its outreach costs.
• Show your preschoolers videos about lions in their natural habitats.  Some good ones you can use are World Lion Day: 10 interesting facts you did not know about the ‘King of the Jungle‘, World Lion Day | August 10th – Official Trailer | National Geographic Wild UK, and World Lion Day.

The more we spread the word, the greater the chances of these incredible animals gracing our planet forevermore.

Additional Activities:

If you want additional activities related to lions and the letter Ll, my L is for Lion Unit Pack is the perfect solution. It includes 160 pages of printable activities and teaching ideas spanning multiple domains. This pack is perfect for engaging your children in hands-on learning that incorporates literacy, math, science, fine motor skills, and more, making it an excellent addition to any preschool or homeschool curriculum. You can check it out HERE.

Lion-related Books

Reading to your children about lions is one of the best educational activities you can do to teach your kiddos about lions and plant in them the love and desire to help these amazing creatures as they get older.

Many books address lions, both fictional and non-fictional.  You can find books about these great cats at your local library and used bookstore.  I love Amazon because you can get anything fast, and I love constantly adding books to my collection.  These are my favorite books about lions.  I added my Amazon links to make it easier for you to click the titles.

• Lions! by Hope Acher.  This exciting nonfiction children’s book features over 20 stunning full-color photos and captivating facts about these powerful big cats, and explores the strength, behavior, and fascinating social lives of lions in the wild.

• Lion for Kids by Fynvella Azuriel.  With 40 stunning pictures and fun, easy-to-read facts, this exciting book brings these incredible animals to life.

• The Nature Kid’s Guide to Lions by Renata Marie.  With short, easy-to-read sentences and stunning, high-quality pictures of lions, this book brings the world of lions to life and makes the learning experience even more immersive.

• All Things Lions for Kids by Animal Reads.  This book uses simple, easy-to-understand writing, awesome real-life pictures, and plenty of incredible facts and topics, ranging from the history and evolution to the characteristics, diet, and life cycle of lions.

• Lions for Kids by Tristan Keefer.  Teaches the origins and evolution of lions, the taxonomy of lion species, past and current lion subspecies worldwide, how lion populations are distributed and the habitats they occupy, how they hunt, their social behavior, and their hierarchical roles.

• In Like a Lion Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer.  The lively text and paintings illustrate how we personify spring weather, making this book a perfect introduction to figurative language—and lots of fun to read, too.

Pin It For Later

If you are in a rush and don’t have time to read the post and download the printable but want to save it for later, pin it to one of your Pinterest boards.

It is important that children better understand lions, and you, as teachers and parents of preschoolers, can encourage them to love, support, and protect these animals.

This World Lion Day, make a vow to teach your children all of this, so they can become protectors and advocates for these amazing cats, so future generations can enjoy them and we all can have balanced ecosystems where all species thrive.

I hope you enjoy these ideas and that they help you have fun celebrating World Lion Day with your preschoolers.  To get the FREE pack, just click the link below and enter your information for an immediate download.

Be happy, safe, and creative. I wish you well.

Love,

P.S. Please let me know if any of these ideas work for you, or if you think I should add or replace something.  My goal is to help you in any way I can, and I don’t like anything better than posting something you might find useful. Also, if you have different ideas and want to share them, I’d love to post them as well.

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