TRINITY GESE 4

ISABEL LOSADA

LIONS

WHAT LIONS ARE

I love seeing documentaries about lions because they are one of the strongest animals
in the world and because people say they are the kings of the jungle although they live
in the savanna in Africa!!!

Because of their size, strength, and skills, lions are considered one of the big
cats. Tigers, cheetahs, leopards, and jaguars are also part of this group. They are
mammals. Lions usually have got a thick mane. Lionesses havent got a mane.

Some lions can weigh 250 kilos and they can live more than 14 years. Lionesses can
weigh from 120 to 182 kilos so they are smaller. They sleep during the day and are
active during the night.They are not as fast as the cheetah.

Lions usually live in groups of fifteen or more animals called prides. In a pride, they
hunt prey, raise cubs and defend their territory together. Each pride generally will have
no more than two adult males.

HUNTING

Lions are carnivore animals so they eat meat. They like hunting zebras, wildebeest,
buffalos, warthogs and deer species. Sometimes they feed from death animals that other
animals like hyenas killed before. They dont attack adult rhinoceroses or elephants.

Hunting generally is done in the dark by the lionesses. They often hunt in groups of two
or three, using teamwork to surround, and kill their prey. After the kill the males usually
eat first, lionesses nextand the cubs get what's left. A lioness needs 5 kilos of meat per
day and a lion needs 10 kilos of meat per day.

LIONS IN THE PAST

We know lions existed in the past because we know Prehistoric mens paintings in
caves in France. Lions were supposed to be larger than nowadays lions. People found
fossils related to these ancestors in Italy and France and even in Spain and Portugal.
Greeks and Romans liked hunting lions in the past. Romans particularly used them in
the amphitheater. They had lion hunting in the Colosseum in Rome as well as gladiator
fightings and chariots races. People went to the Colosseum to see this exotic animals
because they had never seen them before.

WHAT I AM GOING TO DO WHEN I HAVE SOME TIME

Last term we were learning about animals and their characteristics. I had a lot of
fun.When I have some free time I am going to join a course that they have for children
at the zoo of Madrid. The zookeepers tell you about the cares that the different animals
need. Each week they talk about different topics, one week they talk about the fastest
and largest animals, another week they talk about the different habitats were animals
liveIf my parents let me do it I am going to be there fifteen days enjoying the
different animals and I am going to learn a lot of things.

QUESTIONS

1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be? Why?

2. Have you ever been in the zoo in Madrid?
3. Whats your opinion about lions?