More on Lions
Lion, (Panthera leo), large, powerfully built cat (family Felidae) that is second in size only to the tiger. This animal has been one of the best-known animals since the earliest times.
Lions are most active at night and live in a variety of habitats, but prefer grassland, savanna, dense scrub, and open woodland.
We always hear that lions are the kings of the jungle, that the lion is powerful and so on, but, why? Why the lion is considered the king of the jungle? Last week we gave one version of this topic.
- First of all, lions don't actually live in the jungle. Their real habitat is the open savanna where they hunt mammals such as gazelles, antelopes, and zebras. They may also cooperate to catch larger mammals such as buffalo, giraffes and even crocodiles.
- Lionesses, or female lions, usually do most of the hunting. Sometimes they work together to flush out prey. One lion will scare out prey towards the others making it difficult to escape.
- Lions live in groups called prides. These prides usually consist of as many as 15 lionesses and their young, and 3 adult males.
- Lions could be kings because of their raw power and strength and also because they don't fear any other animal; however, like a king, lions do have enemies. The lion's worst enemy is the hyena.
- Lions also punish the ones in the pride who don´t follow the rules.
- kings are the most powerful people or rulers of a land. Perhaps this is why the lion is considered king because it is in control of the land, it lives on and all the other animals that live in their territories.
These are some reasons why lions could be considered kings of the jungle, even though they don´t live in it.
By: Andrea De La Torre and Dina Reyes
