Pic du Choco vs Lion d'Afrique

Veniliornis chocoensis compared with Panthera leo

Key Differences

• Pic du Choco is Near Threatened while Lion d'Afrique is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Pic du Choco	Lion d'Afrique
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (oiseau)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Piciformes (Piciformes)	Carnivora (carnivores)
Family	Picidae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Veniliornis	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Veniliornis chocoensis	Panthera leo

Evolutionary Relationship

Pic du Choco and Lion d'Afrique share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Pic du Choco

NT — Near Threatened

Lion d'Afrique

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~23.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Pic du Choco	Lion d'Afrique
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	2.5 m
Average Weight	—	190.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Pic du Choco

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Lion d'Afrique

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Pic du Choco

The Choco Woodpecker (Veniliornis chocoensis) is a small to medium-sized woodpecker in the family Picidae, endemic to the humid lowland and foothill forests of the Chocó biogeographic region on the Pacific slopes of Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. It belongs to the genus Veniliornis, a group of small Neotropical woodpeckers characterised by their compact build, relatively short bills, and often barred or spotted plumage combining greens, browns, and reds. The male Choco Woodpecker has a red cap, while the female's crown is dark. Both sexes show strongly barred underparts. It inhabits the interior and edge of humid tropical forest from sea level to around 1,200 metres, where it excavates nesting and roosting cavities in dead or dying trees and forages for wood-boring beetles, ants, and other invertebrates by pecking, chiselling, and probing bark and dead wood. The IUCN classifies the Choco Woodpecker as Near Threatened. Its dependence on intact and mature forest with sufficient dead wood substrate makes it vulnerable to the rapid, ongoing deforestation occurring in the Colombian and Ecuadorian Pacific lowlands and foothills, where large areas of forest have been converted to agriculture and human settlements over recent decades.

Lion d'Afrique

The largest wild cat in Africa, lions reach up to 250 kg and are the only social felids, living in prides across sub-Saharan savannas and grasslands. Males are distinguished by their iconic manes. As apex predators, they regulate herbivore populations and maintain ecosystem balance. Listed as Vulnerable due to habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador