Scale Explorer

Animals

How tall is an African lion?

African lion · Panthera leo

Shoulder height
1.1–1.2 m 3.5–4 ft range
Head-body length
158–250 cm 5 ft 2 in – 8 ft 2 in range
Tail length
61–100 cm 2 ft – 3 ft 3 in range
Body mass
122–225 kg 269–496 lb range
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Dog (Labrador Retriever), Human, Gorilla, African lion drawn to the same scaleDog (Labrador Retriever): height at withers 54.6–62.2 cm. Human: height 1.61–1.75 m. Gorilla: standing height (adult male) up to 1.8 m. African lion: shoulder height 1.1–1.2 m.Dog (Labrador Retriever): 54.6–62.2 cmHuman: 1.61–1.75 mGorilla: up to 1.8 mAfrican lion: 1.1–1.2 mGorillaup to 1.8 mHuman1.61–1.75 mAfrican lion1.1–1.2 mDog (Labrador Retriever)54.6–62.2 cm
Everything is drawn to the same scale, standing on the same ground line. Silhouettes are simplified outlines scaled to the measured dimension. A faded outline shows the top of a size range.

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Dimensions

MeasurementMetricImperialNotesSource
Shoulder height 1.1–1.2 m 3.5–4 ft Adults, ground to shoulder; the source also gives 1 to 1.2 m. Range: varies [1]
Head-body length 158–250 cm 5 ft 2 in – 8 ft 2 in Excludes tail. Females 158-192 cm, males 172-250 cm (Wilson and Mittermeier 2009). Range: varies [2]
Tail length 61–100 cm 2 ft – 3 ft 3 in Listed only in the males column of the fact sheet table; no separate female figure is given. Range: varies [2]
Body mass 122–225 kg 269–496 lb Females 122-192 kg, males 150-225 kg (record male 272 kg). Range: varies [2]

About the African lion

The lion is the second-largest cat after the tiger, and males are clearly bigger than females. Adults stand about 3.5 to 4 ft at the shoulder. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives head-and-body lengths of about 1.6 to 2.5 m, not counting a tail of up to about 1 m. Adults weigh roughly 120 to 225 kg, with males the heavier sex.

  • Average weights are about 190 kg for males and 126 kg for females. The record male weighed 272 kg (600 lb). [2]
  • Shoulder height is about 123 cm (4 ft) in males and 107 cm (3.5 ft) in females. [2]
  • A full-grown male is about 1.8-2.1 m long excluding a 1 m tail, stands about 1.2 m at the shoulder and weighs 170-230 kg. Females have a body length of about 1.5 m, a shoulder height of 0.9-1.1 m and weigh 120-180 kg. [4]
  • The Smithsonian's National Zoo says males grow to lengths of about 10 ft (3 m) with a 2 to 3 ft tail, and females to about 9 ft (2.7 m); it does not say whether the tail is included in these lengths. [1]
  • San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives a tail length of 27 to 41 in (70 to 105 cm) and male weights of 330 to 570 lb (150 to 260 kg). [3]

How many fit?

  • ≈ 1.4–2.9 × Human · body mass on the scales weigh as much as African lion · body mass
  • ≈ 1–1.7 × Gorilla · mass (adult male, average) on the scales weigh as much as African lion · body mass

Counts divide one sourced figure by another. "End to end" uses each object's main measurement; weight and volume rows appear only when both figures are sourced.

How it compares

  • 1/1.3–1.6 An average adult is about 1.3–1.6 times as tall as an African lion is tall at the shoulder. See side by side
  • 1/1.6 A gorilla is about 1.6 times as tall as an African lion is tall at the shoulder. See side by side
  • 1/1.7–2.6 An ostrich is about 1.7–2.6 times as tall as an African lion is tall at the shoulder. See side by side
  • 1/1.3–1.6 A horse is about 1.3–1.6 times as tall at the shoulder as an African lion. See side by side
  • 1/2.1–3.5 An African elephant is about 2.1–3.5 times as tall at the shoulder as an African lion. See side by side
  • 1/9.5 A school bus is about 9.5 times as long as an African lion is tall at the shoulder. See side by side

Factors compare the shoulder height of an African lion with each object’s own main measurement (height for a human). Where a size varies, the factor is given as a range.

Notes on these figures

  • The live Britannica page blocked automated access. Its figures were read from an Internet Archive snapshot of the same URL (June 2026).
  • The Smithsonian National Zoo's total lengths (males 10 ft, females 9 ft) do not say whether the tail is included, so they are recorded only as a fact and not as headBodyLength.
  • The tail-length range in the San Diego Zoo library table appears only in the males column. San Diego Zoo's animal page gives 27-41 in (70-105 cm) without splitting by sex.
  • Other sources put the top of the male weight range higher than 225 kg: the National Zoo gives up to 250 kg and the San Diego Zoo animal page up to 260 kg. Britannica gives female shoulder heights as low as 0.9 m, below the 3.5 ft (about 1 m) lower bound used here.

Sources

  1. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Lion. Accessed 24 September 2026.
  2. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library, Lion (Panthera leo) Fact Sheet: Physical Characteristics. Accessed 24 September 2026.
  3. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Lion. Accessed 24 September 2026.
  4. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Lion. Accessed 24 September 2026.

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