The Lion is widely regarded as the King of the Jungle and there is an unspoken agreement or alliance among-st all other animals save for a few.

These few animals can also contend for the title of the King, and the supposed King would likely stand down when they come into contention except some certain factors come in his favor.

What other animals can contend this title?

The African Buffalo. “The adult buffalo’s horns are its characteristic feature; they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield referred to as a “boss”. Buffaloes are sometimes reported to kill more people in Africa than any other animal, …… Buffaloes are notorious among big-game hunters as very dangerous animals, with wounded animals reported to ambush and attack pursuers. A buffalo herd responds to the distress call of a captured member and tries to rescue it. A calf’s distress call gets the attention of not only the mother, but also the herd. Buffaloes engage in mobbing behavior when fighting off predators. They have been recorded killing a lion and chasing lions up trees and keeping them there for two hours, after the lions have killed a member of their group. Lion cubs can get trampled and killed. In one videotaped instance, known as the Battle at Kruger, a calf survived an attack by both lions and a crocodile after intervention of the herd.” (Wikipedia)

The Elephant. Its the largest land mammal on earth and with extreme strength, highly intelligent and with a memory that spans decades. They are fiercely protective and  they form a tight invincible family bond which makes it extremely difficult to be preyed on or harassed. Elephants are been used to move heavy loads in most parts of Asia and had been used as war machinery by different War lords and Kings in ancient times, and they are quite very formidable in the battle front. Elephants are Kings and Queens (Elephant herds are led by the largest and oldest female in the herd and she’s the Matriarch) in their own right, unchallenged, undaunted, with a high level of intelligence.

The Rhinoceros. They are large, herbivorous mammals identified by their characteristic horned snouts. Adult rhinoceros have no real predators in the wild, other than humans.

Time won’t suffer us to mention the Giant Anaconda in the Amazon Jungle, The Tiger, Saltwater Crocodile, the Alligator, the Killer Whale and the Electric Eel. While these are lords within their own sphere, what makes the Lion to be regarded as the ultimate King of the Jungle? Let’s read on.

Boldness: One of the foremost perceived trait of the Lion is his boldness. A Lion is always willing to get his meal inspite of the apparent danger or risk he/she’s going to face. In the face of overwhelming odds, the Lions would stalk there prey and launch a coordinated attack no matter how large the herd. They are simply not intimidated. A Kingly trait.

Courage: This is quite similar to the first point but its worth pointing out, Lions would stand there ground in the face of defeat and apparent intimidation from a herd such as the Buffalo. They flaunt it when cornered by fighting to win their meal back or to save their life.

Teamwork: Lions are never solitary hunters. They work as a team. A solitary lion would be an old lion expelled from his pride or probably a wounded lion. And they don’t last long. Lions would always bond together on a hunt, moving in coordination and in strategic military-like maneuver.

Opportunity: They always actively seek opportunity to hunt, and feast. They are opportunity seekers who spot the weak link in a herd and move strategically to explore that link.

Strategic: They always plan their attack which i have alluded to severally in the earlier points. They tend to know when to strike, where to strike and who to strike with minimal loss as much as possible. Quite a crafty bunch you would say.

The movie, Lion King, attest to all these attributes and it showcases it in different formats and scenes. And truly the lion is worthy to be called the king of the jungle since no other animal possess these traits!

 

 

But let me shock you a bit.

Lions are the laziest of big cat animals. They sleep up to 20 hours a day with adult males the laziest of all allowing the lioness do 90% of the hunting always. And for “protecting” the Lioness and patrolling the territory, they are the first to take a bite of any hunt and they take majority of it, that is the Lion!

And Lions hunt only at night in groups. And the success rate is just on the average of 50% all the time!

Scavenging provides more than half of their diet as they steal kills from less powerful predator all the time. In order words, they seek for opportunity when other animals make a kill and bully the meal from them. Sure we can relate to that!

Now they look less kingly and we can see their chauvinistic and nasty side to life!

The baseline is this, we all relate with people based on our perception of them on the surface level and only get to know them for their real worth when you move a step closer to probe deep. And the same applies to people relating with us. And our perception more often than not colors our sense of judgement  and appreciation of the real nature of the other person, and also how we are treated as well.

The Lion, by nature exhibits all these attributes because it simply believes in himself, from the cubs all the way to the older lions and lioness, forget the dark and nasty side you have read. A Lion would always remain a lion with no apologies. Who you are is who you are, but it all boils down to the innate abilities that you believe you possess and can thrive with.

More often than not, we are looked down upon and treated infra dig and we question our self worth. But we need to stand firm and promote the inner strength within to surmount any challenge(s) we encounter. Its what makes the Lion bold and courageous.

We need to network with people of like minds who understand the value of teamwork to achieve a purpose and they all work towards that common goal to help, support and achieve victory.

And we must actively seek for opportunity for improvement and increase and be strategically positioned for the next big wave. In the words of JF Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but for what you can do for your country”. Its the time to promote your strength, your virtue, your attributes and your positives.

The right to be King, the right to be perceived as a king in your sphere of influence starts with doing what’s right, the right way and at the right time. Its what makes the Lion the King of the Jungle.