Page 51 - Reading Success B5

Lions are known for their ferociousness but they are also considered the most
social of cats. They usually live in families or groups called prides which are

comprised of related females and cubs. The size of a pride varies from 2 to 18
adult females depending on the environment and availability of prey in the area.

Each pride generally has no more than 2 adult males. Prides are strongly
territorial. Males and females fiercely defend their pride against any outside lions

that attempt to join them.
Males, whose main responsibility is to protect the pride, mark their territory by

surrounding it with urine as well as by roaring usually after sunset, which can
travel as far as five miles, warning off intruders and rounding up stray members of

the pride. They also constantly roam near the edges of their territory while the
females or lionesses tend to remain near the center where the cubs are.

Many of the females in the pride give birth at about the same time. A cub is
nursed by its mother as well as by other females in the pride. Aside from cub

rearing, females also generally do the hunting. They usually hunt at nightfall in
small groups to stalk, surround, and kill their prey together. It usually takes several

attempts before the lionesses could capture a prey. However, once they do have
their kill, the males eat first, the females next and the cubs get whatever is left.

While the females usually live with the pride for life, the males often stay for about
only two to four years.

Males constantly face strong competition for pride tenure. After two or three
years, they either set off on their own to find a new territory or are driven out by

other males when they fail to defend the pride. The new males who claim the
pride kill all the cubs.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. ferociousness of lions
b. social life of lions

c. domestication of lions
d. development of lion cubs

54_Reading Success B 5