🦁
Lion
Panthera leo
Carnivores · Vulnerable
vs
🦓
Plains zebra
Equus quagga
Mammals · Near threatened
46 clips name both of them
30 million views between them.
Plains zebra outweighs Lion 1.9× — 290 kg against 149 kg. Both figures are averages across males and females.
Tale of the tape
Body mass
149 kg
🦁 Lion · COMBINE
290 kg
🦓 Plains zebra · COMBINE
Shoulder height
1.15 m
🦁 Lion
no figure yet
🦓 Plains zebra
Body length
2.17 m
🦁 Lion · COMBINE
2.54 m
🦓 Plains zebra · COMBINE
Top speed
55 km/h
🦁 Lion
no figure yet
🦓 Plains zebra
Bite force
1,768 N
🦁 Lion
no figure yet
🦓 Plains zebra
Maximum lifespan
30 yr
🦁 Lion · COMBINE
40 yr
🦓 Plains zebra · COMBINE
Bars are sized against the larger of the two figures. Bite force figures come from individual studies and vary a lot between sources.
Animals caught on camera
Real footage of the animals on this site — hunting, fighting, and getting on with it.
Graphic clips stay hidden unless you pick Graphic.
Shared ancestry
The closest group they share is Laurasiatheria (superorder), home to 4,193 species.
They last shared an ancestor about 64 million years ago.
Estimates range from 58 to 76 million years; the figure above is the middle estimate.
About this estimate
Dates from Upham, Esselstyn & Jetz 2019, PLoS Biology 17:e3000494 (CC0).