Breeding and Development
In the wild, lions do not appear to have regular breeding seasons. Females come into heat at intervals ranging from three weeks to several months. They remain in heat for a few days, usually mating with only one male during that time.
The cubs—from two to six, but commonly three, to a litter—are born about 14 to 15 weeks after breeding. They are spotted, and are sometimes striped also. Their eyes usually open four to six days after birth. The lioness suckles the cubs six to eight months. Cubs are totally dependent on adults for food until they are at least two years old. Mortality among cubs is high; only about 20 per cent live beyond two years. The cubs lose most of their spots when they are about a year old. At this time the lioness begins to teach them to hunt.
The males generally begin to develop manes when they are three years old. At this age lions are mature. They reach their peak at six or seven years of age. Lions have been known to live 25 to 30 years in captivity, but few lions in the wild live longer than 15 years.
A lioness is ready to mate between the ages of 3 and 4. About 3 1/2 months after mating, she gives birth to a litter of one to five cubs.
Lion cubs can’t see at birth because their eyes are closed for the first few days of their lives. They are completely dependent on their mother for food and protection. At first, the mother nurses them with her milk. Then, after the cubs are about 6 weeks old, she leads them to an animal she has killed. That’s when the cubs get their first taste of meat.
Lions in a pride usually mate around the same time. As a result, the females give birth to their litters around the same time, too. This helps both the mothers and the pride as a whole. A mother lioness can count on other mothers to “cubsit” her young. One female may even nurse another female’s cubs.
Cubs spend their days sleeping, nursing, and gradually eating more and more meat. They also do a lot of playing. Cubs wrestle and chase each other. They also chase just about anything small that moves. Through playing, cubs learn skills they will need later in life when they must hunt and defend themselves.
In time, a mother lioness weans her cubs, or gradually stops feeding them her milk. From then on, the cubs eat meat. At just over a year, lion cubs are bigger than the adults of most other kinds of wild cats and weigh about 100 pounds (45 kilograms).
Female cubs usually stay with a pride their entire lives. Adult males, however, chase young males from the pride when the younger males turn 2 or 3. Often, the young males wander together until they are about 5. When they are strong enough, they will try to take over a pride and its territory.
