Known as the King of the Beasts the lion is large and very powerful. Though it is not the fastest or the fiercest of the big cats, its size and manner grants the lion its title. Their coats are sandy in colour and short, and their characteristic main is only present in the males.

Unlike the other big cats lions are very social animals and live in prides of 30 or more, depending on each other for hunting and caring of the young. Without this type of community the females wouldn’t be able to hunt while leaving the cubs with the male. Their habitat is varied but mainly found in open savannahs and lightly wooded areas.

The females do the hunting and although zebras are the main prey, they will also feed on small mammals. Hunting can take place at any time, and because lions cannot run as fast as most of their prey the hunt depends on their intelligence and stalking the prey as close as possible. When hunting in groups the lions will spread out making escape more difficult. The male lion will eat first, then usually the females followed by the cubs.

The will spend most of their day resting in the open plains. Though they mainly now inhabit parts of Africa, lions were once widespread across the Middle East and Asia.