Big Cats - African Lion (Panthera leo)

Well, I can't do sketches of big cats without doing the king of the jungle.

The male lion can be up to 600 lbs and over 8 feet long from nose to tail tip. It is second only to the tiger in size.

Lions are the only cats that live in social groups, called prides. A pride typically contains 3 or 4 males with around a dozen females and all their young. Only the dominant male typically has mating privileges and he will brutally exterminate any young from other males. Female young typically stay with the family group while young male lions usually leave the pride when they reach adulthood. At some point, they will challenge the leader of a neighboring pride or return to challenge the leader of their birth pride. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible for a lion to live in the wild without being part of a pride. An adult lion needs 10 to 15 pounds of fresh meat daily to survive.

The social order within the pride is rigorously maintained. When kills occur, feeding occurs strictly according to social order, with the smallest cub eating last. The prides big eaters (the dominant male and dominant females, the first to eat) will gorge themselves, eating over 60 lbs of meat at a time. The highly maintained social order also plays a role in hunting, patrolling and all other functions within the pride.

Lions are typically inactive for most the day, lounging or sleeping up to 20 hours every day. Lions are effective hunters both day and night, relying more on cooperation and teamwork than either stealth or speed. The females of the pride are the most active and successful in hunting.