Page 15 - Animals of the Wild April 2017(1)_Neat

Lions can run up to 80 kilometres per hour in short spurts. The females are the primary hunters
while the male lions protect the territory and the young. Lionesses use teamwork to bring their prey
down. The younger and weaker lionesses will form a semi-circle around the prey forcing the prey to
move to the middle where the older stronger lionesses will hit the prey down and go in for the kill.
Lions normally hunts at night. Prey consists of zebra, antelope, buffalo, young elephant, crocodile,
rhinoceros, giraffe, wild hog and some smaller animals like hares, mice and birds.
Lions do steal prey from leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and hyenas. Water obtained from the
stomach content of the prey can ensure that a lion can go for 4-5 days without drinking.

After a 110-day pregnancy, the lioness gives birth to 1-4 cubs in a secluded area. The cubs are born
with closed eyes. Their sight only appears after a week. The cubs start to crawl after two days and
walk after three weeks. The lioness protects the cubs by moving them from one secluded area to
another several times a month. Buffalo will smell the cubs and trample them dead. 80% of cubs will
die before they turn two. The lioness and cubs will go back to pride when the cub is 6-8 weeks old.
Most lionesses will have reproduced by the age of four. Female lion cubs stay with the pride but the

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