lioness

The Lioness

The lioness is distinguished from the male lion by its lack of a mane. It looks less interesting than the male but it is more agile, faster and wittier than the male counterpart. It normally lives in a group with other female relatives. It is a very social animal. During the day, you will find it under tree shades purring, touching and licking each other affectionately. It weighs about 200 kg. The male lion is heavier and bigger than the lioness. It is the one that hunts in the group. All the lionesses in a pride work together to bring down bigger and faster animals such as buffaloes, gazelles, impalas, hippos and zebras.

The lionesses use wits where they do not have a speed and strength advantage. They normally surround the desired prey from different angles then ambush when not more than 30 m away. They cannot run fast for long distances therefore the need to be as close to the prey as possible. They kill the prey by strangulation. They then share the meal with the other members of the pride such as cubs and the male lions.

The female cubs born in a particular pride do not leave the group after maturity like their male counterparts. They go on and sire their own cubs and the family genealogy continues. If a lioness happens to leave a group, it is very hard for it to find another group to join as lionesses do not allow unrelated females to join them. It therefore must go back home or become a nomad.

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