African Lion

The African Lion is the second largest species of extant cat, after the tiger. Despite its name, the species could also originally be found in Europe and Asia, although only a small population in India now exists outside Africa. The lion is easily identifiable by the prominent mane of hair around the neck region of males, which acts as an indication of how healthy an individual is, with a full, dark mane indicating that a lion is in his prime. Lions also feature a tuft of hair at the end of their tails, not seen in any other cat species.

The African Lion can live in a variety of habitats, but is most common on the African Savannah. It is an apex predator, preying on a wide variety of animals, typically ungulates such as zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, gemsbok and giraffes. Unusually amongst cats, lions live in large groups, or "prides", consisting of a group of closely related females, their cubs and a few adult males who may or may not be related to each other. Lions will also often hunt in groups, with females doing most of the hunting.