Lions are the apex predators of the wild that are carnivores, which means that they only eat meat. They are social animals just like dogs, and they live, hunt, and travel in groups called prides.

You probably have seen videos or pictures of lions before. As you can see, they have very sharp, pointed teeth, or fangs, with two on top and two on the bottom of their mouths. A lion uses it to hold its prey, kill it, and tear it apart. These four teeth called carnassial teeth are for cutting through tough skin and tendons. Lions don't have any teeth suitable for chewing, so they swallow their food in chunks.

Let’s talk about lionesses. As most of you guys know, a lioness is a female lion. In most prides, there are a lot more lionesses compared to male lions. Since they are all related, they share the duty as a mother. They all protect and feed each other's cubs and sometimes even adopt and raise them like their own.

A lioness's pregnancy lasts for about 108 days, and they can have up to 6 cubs, but they usually have 2 to 4. A lioness moves out of her pride when she is about to give birth, so that she can hide and keep her cubs in a safer place. During that period, she has to hunt alone, but it is very dangerous for her cubs, because it leaves them vulnerable to other predators.

Next, let’s talk about male lions. Lionesses mostly hunt for food — as they are the main hunters of their pride — and raise their cubs, so the male lions have to protect the pride from any kinds of threats. These threats are mostly other predators and nomads, which are male lions from other places that are looking to invade prides. If the nomads get to the pride, they will try to attack the male lions and kill their cubs, taking over the pride to spread out their territory and blood lines.

Once a cub becomes a year old, they are considered an adolescent, which lasts about a year and 11 months. That’s the period when cubs become more independent, but they are not fully mature and are still in the “cub slot.” They still do need protection, although they don’t need the care of their mothers.

In prides, male lions have to leave their pride and take over other prides, because their father kicks them out as they might take over his pride. When they’re about 2 to 3 years old, they have to leave. On the other hand, lionesses stay and hunt with their pride forever until they die.

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