For the lion cubs in this video, South Africa’s Amahara Game Reserve is just one giant playground. What’s more, their mom is their best playmate. In this heartwarming footage, we see the mother lioness cope with rowdy play and show amazing patience.
Some rolled on their backs, fought and pawed. This looks like a peaceful place for the lions to hang out with their cubs.
lion in africa
Lions are top predators in South Africa and Asia, and they prefer to live in open woodlands, bush and grasslands. They are large, powerful members of the cat family and the largest cats on the African continent. Lions are pack animals and like to live in family groups called prides, and as we’ve seen here, most of the lions in a pride are female. You can tell them apart from the males because they don’t have thick, dark manes on their faces. Lion prides usually consist of 5 to 15 females, their cubs and a male. The male patrols his territory, warning other males. Overall, the lion population on Earth has dwindled, and there are now only about 20,000 lions left in the world.
These magnificent creatures have a short coat that is either tawny or golden in color. Their fur is low-key, without the bold patterns found on some other big cats, such as tigers or leopards. Their tails are long and end in a characteristic tuft of fur.
lion as hunter and mother
Lions are top predators and carnivores. The combination of strong, powerful jaws, pointy canines, and razor-sharp teeth meant they could slice through the flesh of the animals they captured. It is the lionesses who hunt their prey, and they do so in packs. This allows them to take on larger and faster prey than a single lion could handle on its own.
Lions reach sexual maturity at two or three years of age, but reproduction is usually delayed until the pride is firmly established. After mating, females become pregnant for nearly four months and give birth to one to six pups. Lion cubs are very fragile; less than 50 percent live to a year, and just one in five live to be two years old. Most died of starvation or attacks by other animals. Many lionesses in the same pride will give birth and nurse each other’s cubs around the same time. Young will start eating meat at around three months, but will continue to nurse until they are six months old. They learn to hunt at one year old, and as we see here, they practice their moves on their mom first!
Next:
- Watch a cornered crocodile fight five grown lions
- Watch a mighty cougar question his own reflection suspiciously
- Watch a hyena walk into a pride of lions inadvertently and immediately regret it
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.