South Africa Widlife Series The Lion Silver Proof Set 2000 4 Coins Mint Box & COA

The lion is the largest African carnivore. Their size as well as their effective hunting skills make them formidable predators. The females are more effective hunters than their larger male counterparts. Although it is mainly the femaleís efforts that provide the meat for the pride, it is the males that first take their share, leaving the scraps for the cubs and lastly the females. Lionesses hunt as a team and can kill prey as large as an adult buffalo, giraffe or an eland bull. A pride of lions usually comprises a group of four to twelve related females and a coalition of one to six males. These males are often full or half-brothers who have left their maternal pride together. These males usually wander for two to three years until they are physically mature enough to oust existing pride males in a savage and often potentially fatal conflict. After their takeover, the incoming males drive out any young adult males in the pride and kill the young cubs. By killing the cubs, the males insure the continuation of their own bloodlines as the females will come into heat again with no cubs to suckle. The lioness leaves the pride to give birth. She will normally give birth to two to five cubs and will not return to the pride until her young are old enough to hold their own against the other cubs ñ usually eight weeks old. The lioness will suckle all of the prideís cubs with no discernable bias toward her own cubs. Lions have fascinated mankind throughout history. Their striking appearance and character have earned them the title of King of the Beasts.