Lions are the only social wild cats.They live in family groups called 'prides',which are made up of as many as 12 females and their young,and up to three adult males.
Most lions are found in Africa,but small populations still exist in north west India.They prefer habitats of grassy plains,savannah and open woodland,but can occasionally be found in areas of semi-desert.
Most lions are found in Africa,but small populations still exist in north west India.They prefer habitats of grassy plains,savannah and open woodland,but can occasionally be found in areas of semi-desert.
Lions have tawny yellow coats.Males have thick woolly manes that darken with age,so old males are sometimes called black-maned lions.The main role of male lions is to protect the pride,and their manes make them look larger to other male rivals.If a new male does join the pride he will kill all the cubs and mate with the females so he becomes the dominant male,and father of all the young.
Lions are quite lazy creatures,and spend as much as 20 hours a day resting!Females do most of the hunting,and often work together in groups.They usually hunt during the day and prey upon mammals like antelope and zebra.The phrase 'the lion's share' comes from the males' habit of eating before the rest of the pride.
Lions will breed at any time of the year,and females give birth to litters of between two and six cubs.The cubs are born with spots,but they fade as they get older.Young cubs are extremely vulnerable and only 20% will survive to reach two years old.
中文：
狮是唯一一种雌雄两态的猫科动物.狮的体型巨大,公狮身长可达180cm,母狮也有160cm.狮的毛发短,体色有浅灰、黄色或茶色,不同的是雄狮还长有很长的鬃毛,鬃毛有淡棕色、深棕色、黑色等等,长长的鬃毛一直延伸到肩部和胸部.那些鬃毛越长,颜色越深的家伙或许在母狮眼里是英武挺拔的帅哥,常常更能吸引‘女士们'的注意.狮的头部巨大,脸型颇宽,鼻骨较长,鼻头是黑色的.狮的耳朵比较短,耳朵很圆（我注意到有些人因为名字里都有个“狮”字,就把美洲狮和母狮搞混在一起.其实单从外观看就能有所区分,母狮的耳朵好像是个短短的半圆,而美洲狮的耳朵则比较长,耳尖也比较尖.另外,狮属于猫科动物中的豹亚科,而美洲狮则为猫亚科,两者相差颇远.狮的前肢比后肢更加强壮,它们的爪子也很宽.狮的尾巴相对较长,末端还有一簇深色长毛.
生活在非洲大陆南北两端的雄狮鬃毛更加发达,一直延伸到背部和腹部,它们的体型也最大,不过在人类用猎枪对它们特殊关怀下,这两个亚种都相继灭绝了.位于印度的亚洲狮体型比非洲兄弟要小,鬃毛也比较短.它们也处在灭亡边缘.
狮过去曾生活在欧洲东南部、中东、印度和非洲大陆.生活在欧洲的狮大约在公元1世纪前后因人类活动而灭绝,生活在亚洲,尤其是印度的狮差点在20世纪初被征服印度的英国殖民者宛如抽风般猎杀殆尽（完全显示了人类类似‘穷鬼乍富'后的猥琐!）,幸好一向将狮奉为圣兽的印度人最后保住了它们,将它们安置在印度西北古吉拉特邦境内的吉尔国家森林公园内.那里的狮如今已繁衍了大约300-400头左右.在生活在西亚的亚洲狮因偷猎而灭绝后,吉尔国家森林已成了亚洲狮最后的栖息地……
与其他猫科动物最不同的是,狮属群居性动物.一个狮群通常由4-12个有亲缘关系的母狮、它们的孩子以及1至6只雄狮组成.这几个雄狮往往也有亲属关系,例如兄弟.狮群的大小取决于栖息地状况和猎物的多少.东非的狮群往往比较大,因为那里的食物充足.最大的狮群可能聚集了30甚至更多的成员,但大部分狮群维持15个成员左右,小一些的狮群也很常见.一个狮群成员之间并不会时刻待在一起,不过它们共享领地,相处比较融洽.例如,母狮们会互相舔毛修饰,互相哺育和照看孩子,当然还会共同狩猎.
狮群中的狩猎工作基本由女性成员完成.它们不论白天黑夜都可能出击,不过夜间的成功率要高一些,尤其是月黑风高的夜晚……风对狮捕食来说一般没多少影响,不过要是遇到大风天,它们可能就会占了便宜,因为风吹草动制造的噪音会掩盖住这些女性猎手靠近的声音.这些巾帼英雄们总是协同合作,尤其是猎物个头比较大的时候.这些女士们总是从四周悄然包围猎物,并逐步缩小包围圈,其中有些负责驱赶猎物,其他则等着伏击.尽管这招看着厉害,但实际上它们的成功率只有20％左右.如果狩猎地比较容易藏身,它们才容易获得成功.如果一旦吃饱了,它们能5、6天都不用捕食.
狮群中男士很少参与捕猎,当然,基本只负责“吃”.这也不能怪它们的大男子主义和懒惰.要想在开阔的草原上把夸张的鬃毛和硕大的头颅隐藏起来,还真是不容易,与其让它们在外面四处惊吓猎物,还不如回家闲待着呢.
