The King of Beasts
THE lion is often called the king of the beasts because of its strength and majestic appearance. It lives in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert, and in the Gir forests of Gujarat in India.
The male lion has long thick hair, called the mane, which covers its head, neck and shoulders, and extends up to its chest. The colour of the mane is blond, brown or black. It helps to soften the blows of its enemies.
With a single blow of a paw, it can break the neck of a zebra. Each of its huge, powerful paws has curved claws, with which it hooks and holds its prey. At times it uses its claws as a toothpick. When it swallows a chunk of meat, too large for its mouth, it digs it out with its claws. To maintain sharpness in the claws, the lion withdraws them into a sheath in its paw and draws them out only when required.
The lion swallows its food as its teeth are not meant for chewing. Its long sharp teeth serve as deadly weapons. It uses these to hold its prey, kill it and tear chunks of meat, which it then swallows. The lion eats practically anything that is handy, from dead and decaying flesh to fish and turtles. Zebras, antelopes, buffaloes and waterbucks are its favourites though.
Lionesses do most of the hunting. They hunt at night in groups. The group forms a circle around the prey and silently creeps up very close. Then, one of them attacks. The prey tries to run, only to get caught by the others, crouching in the grass. The lion then kills it either by breaking its neck with one heavy blow of its paw or suffocates it to death by gripping its nostrils hard.
The lion can eat as much as 34 kgs of meat in one meal. It stuffs itself and then goes without food for days. It kills only when it is hungry. Zebras, antelopes and other herd animals are not afraid of a lion that walks with its head up, because it walks that way only when it is well-fed. But if its head is bent down and it walks in a half-crouch, these animals will run for their lives.
Lions are indolent creatures. They spend about 20 hours a day either sleeping or resting. During the day, they lie in cover near a waterhole or stream in the shade of trees. Contrary to popular belief, lions don't live in dens or caves. They may use these occasionally as shelters.
The lioness gives birth to two or three cubs at a time. A newly born cub weighs 0.45 kg and is about 30 cm in length. Its eyes open only after two weeks. Its teeth start to appear after 3 weeks. By the sixth month it is ready to go hunting for food with its mother, and becomes totally independent by one and a half to two years. Lions rarely live beyond the age of ten, though captive lions have been known to survive for twenty years and more.