Lionesses give birth to cubs. When the young are born they are blind, and have spotted coats. A pack of lions can use a number of strategies to catch their prey. Sometimes the pack appears to split up, with some members pursuing prey animals into an ambush set by the others. This means that lions either have to sneak up on their prey, or lie in wait for it to get close enough to catch.
Lions will wait for hours on end to catch their prey. Lions can reach their top speed very quickly, and in a quick dash can often get to the prey before it has a chance to flee. Lions are very strong; a swipe of their paw can be enough to bring down a smaller animal.
Lions often kill by strangulation, clamping their powerful jaws around the neck of their prey. Lions are not officially an endangered species. However, their numbers are declining and they are considered to be a vulnerable species. Africa's lions dominate the savanna. Leopards fill their own niche in the tall grasses and trees. Tigers are top predators of Asia's forests and can even hunt in mangrove swamps.
One reason these big cats are so well adapted to their particular habitats is their ability to use camouflage. The solid, light brown coats of lions, the spotted coats of leopards, and the reddish-tan and striped coats of tigers help each big cat hunt and find protection within its preferred habitat.
National Geographic Society program that supports on-the-ground conservation projects, education, economic incentive efforts, and a global public-awareness campaign to protect big cats and their habitats. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.
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You cannot download interactives. Lions, tigers, and other big cats occupy a special place in the human imagination as beautiful, graceful, and dangerous. But these top predators have more to fear from humans than humans do from them. Many of these once-prolific species are endangered from poaching, territory loss, and climate change. Learn about these vital creatures through the resources in this collection. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students.
Skip to content. Image Leopard in Tree Leopards are experienced tree climbers and tend to rest in the boughs of trees. Photograph by Benjamin Tang, My Shot. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Have students identify big cats and their roars. Informal Assessment Observe student participation and responses throughout the activity and class discussion. Extending the Learning Have students do the activity again, using a different big cat or another animal of their choosing to see if and why their animal uses camouflage in its habitat.
Learning Objectives Students will: compare and contrast the habitats and coat patterns of lions, tigers, and leopards describe how the coat patterns of big cats help them survive in different habitats create a human coat to act as camouflage for students in a habitat familiar to them.
Teaching Approach Learning-for-use. Teaching Methods Discussions Inquiry. Resources Provided The resources are also available at the top of the page. At around 12 to 14 months old, male cubs begin to grow longer hair around their chests and necks. This is the beginning of their mane, which will not have grown properly until they reach the age of two.
Usually, the mane continues to gets longer and darker with age. In some lions, it can stretch across their tummies and even onto their back legs. Female lions, called lionesses, do not have manes. Nobody really knows why a male lion grows a mane, but it is thought that it could be to protect its neck during the fighting. It also can be used to make the male look bigger to scare off other lions and large animals such as rhinos. Another reason is to show off to female lions.
Lionesses seem to prefer males with dark manes. It is thought this is because they appear stronger and healthier than those with light coloured manes and so can offer them more protection.
Lions living in warmer habitats have shorter, lighter manes than those in cooler areas. It can even change as the temperature gets hotter and colder throughout the year. Researchers are still studying male lions across Africa to understand why they have manes, but the real answer is that nobody knows for certain. Maybe they never will. All cats have long whiskers and lions are no exception. These are very sensitive hairs on the face, close to the nose, which are used to help them feel the things around them.
Each whisker has a black spot at its root. Because no two lions have the same pattern, it is possible for researchers to tell them apart in the wild.
Just like a pet cat, a lion has a long tail which helps it to balance. This can be used to lead other lions through long grass. By flicking its tail, a lion can warn others to stay away because it is in a bad mood.
Their eyes are a blue-grey colour at first and begin to change to an orangey-brown by the age of two to three months. A second eyelid, called a nictitating membrane , helps to clean and protect the eye. At night, a reflective coating on the back of the eye helps to reflect the moonlight. They also have a white patch of furbelow their eyes which helps to reflect even more light back into the eye.
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