By Catherine Mutesi
Lions are one of Africa’s most recognisable animals. Lions signify courage, strength, aggression and power.
· Ironically, Lions are the laziest of the big cats. They spend 20 hours of the day sleeping or resting. They can be found lying on their backs with their feet up or snoozing in the shade. While lazing around, they can be affectionate towards one another, rubbing heads, grooming and purring.
· Lions are social animals. They are the most sociable of all big cats. They live in groups called Prides, which usually consists of ten to fifteen Lions with several adult Lionesses, their Cubs and up to four males. Some Prides can be as large as 40 members.
· Lions can go for about 5 days without drinking water. Male Lions consume more than the females. While female Lions can consume only 11 pounds of meat each day., Male Lions can eat 16 Kilograms of meat or more every single day. Lions prey on large Herbivores like Zebra, Buffaloes , they can at times prey on even small prey like Hares, lizards, and birds.
· Hunting of the prey is mainly done by the female Lions. This is because, they are more agile than males and they use teamwork to bring the down their prey. After a successful hunt, all Lions in the pride share the meal. But there is a pecking order with the adult males eating first followed by the females and finally the Cubs.
· The male play a more protective role. They protect the pride and the pride’s territory which can extend up to 100 Square miles from competing Prides and other predators.
About the Author:
Catherine Mutesi is the Director of Training at the Schools Tree Project
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