The Roaring Lion

Since I want to learn about the different creatures that I would love to come across in Tanzania, I would like to try and focus on one a week and share a few interesting facts. I would like to start with the top of Africa’s Big 5 list: the lion.

The Swahili term for lion is “simba”. Lions are very sociable creatures and live in prides of five to ten animals. Most of the hunting is done by the females, although the first feed normally goes to the dominant males.

There are often battles to the death between males to determine the leader of a pride. Young males are often pushed out of their prides at around age three, and it is common for male cubs to be killed after a takeover. Yikes.

But don’t worry about the lions exerting themselves too much. They tend to spend up to 23 hours a day resting…