Lions

Lions — page 1 — Lions are known for being brave and powerful Armed with huge dagger teeth and slashing claws lions are built to hunt What makes lions extra special is the way they live They are not solitary prowlers like tigers and other wild cats Lions live in family groups called prides Lions rear their cubs together feed together and hunt together When a group of lions hunts as a team it can catch almost anything We are going to look at how these lion families spend their lives This book will tell you how they get on with 3 With its flowing reddish-brown mane an adult male lion is an unmistakable sight Introduction 4

Lions — page 2 — 5 LIONS Lazy lions Pound for pound meat contains much more energy than plants While their grass eating victims have to spend most of their lives eating lions need to hunt for just three or four hours a day This means they can spend most of their time lazing around and that’s exactly what they do each other deal with neighbors hunt their prey and bring up their babies We will see exactly what it is that makes these big cats so special and just why they are admired and feared The king of beasts The majestic lion certainly deserves its title of king of the beasts The other big cats dare not cross it for a lion will kill a lone leopard if it gets the chance The only real threat to the lion’s authority is the burly spotted hyena which hunts in big packs and has massive bone-cracking jaws Hyenas often steal lion kills but then lions also steal hyena kills 2 A lioness and some cubs Lionesses give birth to two or three cubs so some must belong to another mom

Lions — page 3 — 3 A pride of lions rests after eating a meal A lion pride Some lions live alone like other cats but these lone lions are the unlucky ones Lions prefer to live in a group or pride A lion pride is a big family of up to 12 related lionesses female lions and their young plus up to six adult males The females do nearly all the hunting and work together to look after their cubs Lionesses may stay in the same pride for life but the males are driven out by stronger rival males after

Lions — page 4 — 2 Two male lions share a meal Their manes are short so they are young animals LIONS Bands of brothers Young female lions usually stay with their mothers in the pride but the young males always leave home Sometimes they wander off alone but usually brothers and half-brothers leave in small groups Gangs survive better than loners so unrelated lone males often form gangs of their own two to four years These takeovers can be violent and the job of the males is to defend the pride against them Lions territories Each pride has its own hunting area or territory The pride is usually scattered all over it in small groups If food is scarce the lions have to roam over a vast area to get enough to eat Smaller richer territories are less tiring and easier to defend The pride’s territory is never any bigger than it needs to be Some lions usually older males live alone 7

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