Lion Cam

Get a glimpse into the lives of Africa’s largest cats. 

The live feed you're watching takes you inside the Smithsonian’s National Zoo’s lion habitat. The yard hosts a rotating crew of three lions: Shaka, Jumbe, and Shera.

All three lions have lived at the Zoo for many years. Shaka and Jumbe, born here in 2011, live together as a bachelor coalition, a natural social group that sibling male lions form for survival in the wild. Their mother, Shera, was born at a private reserve in South Africa in 2004 and arrived at the Zoo in 2006. Shera has given birth to eight cubs, including Shaka and Jumbe, and is now among the oldest lions living in human care. 

The Zoo’s Great Cats exhibit features a tiered structure with trees and open yards that give the lions room to explore, hide, and survey their surroundings. To keep them healthy and mentally stimulated, staff provide daily training sessions and enrichment activities, including carcass feedings that encourage natural predatory behaviors. Staff also rotate some of the other large cats between the exhibit's habitat areas—so don’t be surprised if you see a tiger on cam!

The Lion Cam takes you inside the Zoo’s Great Cats exhibit. Watch for these common behaviors:

• Sleeping: Believe it or not, lions spend up to 20 hours a day – about 80% of their lives – resting and relaxing.  They need plenty of sleep to digest their protein-heavy meals.
• Eating: Lions can eat 10-15 pounds (4.5-6.8 kg) of meat per day. Mealtime often includes large chunks of meat, allowing them to chew, tear, and use their powerful jaw muscles.
• Socializing: Watch for moments when Shaka and Jumbe rub heads, rest side by side, or communicate with roars and growls.
• Playing with enrichment: Keepers provide the lions with enrichment items like balls, scents, and puzzle feeders, giving the lions opportunities to challenge their minds and practice natural hunting or stalking behaviors.
• Swimming: Lions aren’t known for loving water, but they sometimes wade or splash to cool off on warm days.

Looking for even more fun? Download the Animal Cam Bingo Cards and see how many animal behaviors you can spot. 

Although the Smithsonian National Zoo’s lions are thriving, their wild counterparts are in trouble. Habitat loss and human hunting have significantly reduced their numbers — wild lion populations have declined by about 75% across Africa over the last five decades. Many of the remaining wild lions live in fragmented habitats separated by hundreds or even thousands of miles. 

The Smithsonian participates in coordinated breeding programs managed through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan, helping to ensure that species like lions can maintain genetically healthy populations in the future.