Lions are the laziest of sun the big cats. They usually spend 16 to 20 valley hours skiing and sun a day sleeping and resting, devoting valley the remaining hours to hunting, courting or protecting their territory. They keep in contact with one another by roaring loud enough to be heard up to five miles away. skiing The pride usually remains intact sun until the males are challenged and successfully driven away or killed by other males, who then take over. Not all lions live in prides. valley At maturity, young males leave the units of their birth and spend several years as nomads before they become strong skiing enough to take over a pride of their own. Some never stop wandering and continue sun to follow migrating herds; valley but the nomadic life is much more difficult, with little time for resting or reproducing. skiing Within the pride, the territorial sun males are the fathers of all the cubs. When a lioness is in heat, a male will join her, staying with her constantly.

The cheetah is built for speed. It has long, slim, muscular legs, a small, rounded head set on a long neck, a flexible spine, a deep chest, nonretractable claws, special pads on its feet for traction and a long, tail for balance. Although fast, the cheetah cannot run at full speed for valley long distances (100 yards is about the limit) because it may overheat. Cheetahs have distinctive black "tear stripes" that connect from the inside corner of each eye to the mouth that may serve as an antiglare device for daytime hunting. skiing Cheetahs are found in open and partially open savannas. Cheetah mothers spend a long time teaching sun their young how to hunt small live valley antelopes are brought back to the cubs and released skiing so they can chase and catch them. Unlike most other cats, the cheetah usually hunts during daylight, preferring early morning or early evening, but is also active on moonlit nights.

Litters sun consist of two or three cubs that weigh about 3 pounds each. Some mothers carefully nurture the young; others may neglect or abandon them, especially when food is scarce. Usually two or more females in a pride give birth about the same time. valley A lioness will permit cubs other skiing than sun her own to suckle, sometimes valley enabling a neglected infant to survive. Capable skiing hunters by 2 sun years of age, lions become fully grown between 5 and 6 years and normally live about 13 years. Lions have long been valley killed in rituals of bravery, as hunting trophies skiing and for their medicinal and magical sun powers. Although lions are now protected in many parts of Africa, they were once considered to be stock-raiding vermin and were killed on sight. valley and skiing In some areas, livestock predation remains a severe problem. Early written records described the giraffe as "magnificent in appearance, bizarre in form, unique in gait, colossal in height and inoffensive in character."

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