Most kinds of cats live alone. Lions live together in groups. Lions live in family groups called prides. A pride is built around related adult females and their young. It also has a few adult males who are not their relatives. A pride can have as few as two lions or as many as 40. Young male lions leave the pride they were born in when they grow big enough to compete with the older males.

Almost all wild lions live in Africa. A small group lives in India. Lions live on grassy plains called savannas and in open woodlands.

The lion is a big cat, in the same group as tigers and jaguars. Male lions grow a shaggy mane. No other kind of wild cat grows one. A male lion's mane gets darker as he gets older. Male lions weigh about 330 to 550 pounds, and females weigh about 265 to 395 pounds. Lions stand about 3.5 to 4 feet tall at the shoulder.

Female lions, called lionesses, do most of the hunting for the pride. Lions hunt together, which gives them a better chance of getting food. Hunting lionesses fan out and come at their prey from different directions. They hunt big animals such as zebra and wildebeest. Most lion hunts do not succeed. At a kill, the resident male lion usually eats first. When prey is scarce, lions will eat almost any animal and scavenge the kills of other predators. Lions can run about 35 miles per hour for a short burst.

Lion cubs are born with dark spots on their fur. A lioness carries her cubs for about three and a half months before they are born. Lionesses in a pride raise their cubs together. A cub can drink milk from other lionesses in the pride, not just from its own mother. Cubs drink their mother's milk for about six months.

Lions rest for most of the day, as much as 20 to 21 hours.

A lion's roar can be heard from up to five miles away. Lions roar to mark their territory and to keep in touch with their own pride. Lions in a pride show affection by touching, rubbing heads and licking each other.

Lions are threatened by habitat loss and by conflict with people over livestock.

Words to know

• pride: a lion family
• savannas: grassy plains
• scavenge: eat leftover food
• habitat: where animals live