Behavior Guide: thermoregulation

Lions often live in warm climates and many of their behaviors are designed to help them cope with heat. They usually choose to rest in the shade, and will shift position throughout the day to avoid direct sunlight. When no natural shade is available one lion may try to rest in the shade of another or even in the shade of a parked vehicle. Lions thermoregulate mainly by simple heat exchange across the skin barrier. They sometimes pant, but panting is generally restricted to periods of extreme heat stress such as after exertion or a large meal, or when they are resting in direct sunlight.

female on her back
They avoid heat stress further by restricting most of their activity to nighttime hours, by resting on kopjes or other high places to take advantage of cool breezes, and by lying on their backs to expose their thin-skinned stomachs. Licking their forelimbs may also serve a thermoregulatory function-forelimbs are highly vascular and licking may act to cool the blood as it flows through the area.

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