Lions, Africa’s pride
Nov 26, 2004
Lions are large meat-eating animals found in Africa and West Asia.
..by Bookworm
Lions are large meat-eating animals found in Africa and West Asia.
Where do they live?
In the grassy plains of national parks in Africa and India, where wildlife is in plenty. Lions are also found in semi-desert regions such as Iraq and Iran. Some lions also live in zoos and circuses.
What do they look like?
Lions are large cats with strong, muscular bodies, covered with short, dark yellowish-brown or grey fur. Their paws have large claws to help them tear apart their prey. The male is bigger than the female and can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 500 pounds. The male lion has long fur around its neck, known as a mane. The female is known as a lioness and its young, cubs. A lion lives with three to 12 other lions, in a group known as a pride.
How do they behave?
During the day, lions usually rest. At sunset, the male lion roars (makes a loud sound) to scare other animals into running so that the lioness can hunt and kill them. Lions rarely attack human beings without reason, although there are a few man-eating lions. These become man-eaters, usually because of injuries, disease or old age that slows them down and makes it difficult for them to hunt wild animals. Lions are very dangerous during their mating season and will attack both man and beast that approach them.
A lioness produces up to two to six cubs that are born spotted or striped.
The lioness suckles her cubs for three months untill their teeth have grown. During this time, the male may bring food, but the lioness normally hunts alone. She keeps her cubs away from the male so that it does not kill them. Some cubs have successfully been brought up by people and live without ever attacking them. They are usually returned to the wild when they grow older, however, because they become too big and too heavy to manage.
Lions are large meat-eating animals found in Africa and West Asia.
Where do they live?
In the grassy plains of national parks in Africa and India, where wildlife is in plenty. Lions are also found in semi-desert regions such as Iraq and Iran. Some lions also live in zoos and circuses.
What do they look like?
Lions are large cats with strong, muscular bodies, covered with short, dark yellowish-brown or grey fur. Their paws have large claws to help them tear apart their prey. The male is bigger than the female and can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh as much as 500 pounds. The male lion has long fur around its neck, known as a mane. The female is known as a lioness and its young, cubs. A lion lives with three to 12 other lions, in a group known as a pride.
How do they behave?
During the day, lions usually rest. At sunset, the male lion roars (makes a loud sound) to scare other animals into running so that the lioness can hunt and kill them. Lions rarely attack human beings without reason, although there are a few man-eating lions. These become man-eaters, usually because of injuries, disease or old age that slows them down and makes it difficult for them to hunt wild animals. Lions are very dangerous during their mating season and will attack both man and beast that approach them.
A lioness produces up to two to six cubs that are born spotted or striped.
The lioness suckles her cubs for three months untill their teeth have grown. During this time, the male may bring food, but the lioness normally hunts alone. She keeps her cubs away from the male so that it does not kill them. Some cubs have successfully been brought up by people and live without ever attacking them. They are usually returned to the wild when they grow older, however, because they become too big and too heavy to manage.