Lions

 

The lion is the king of the jungle as it appears, even though they don't actually live in the jungle. Lions are from grassland plains, but the saying about lions being in jungles is reference to the animal kingdom as a whole. All animals of the wilderness and it's symbolised with jungles. 

Amazingly these magnificent powerful animals can survive in very dry hostile deserts because they can locate water and find ways to drink. They often obtain fluids from their prey and also they can tap into fruits such as melons. Lions are nocturnal creatures with amazing abilities to see in the dark. It's why they hunt at night. They don't just hunt at night either. They also like hunting during storms. This is because they rely on the storms to cover them so that their prey don't know about them being there. Storms with lightning and loud thunder, and howling sandstorm winds, can hide the sounds of lions and distract prey from being alert. Also female lions (called lionesses) are the main hunters. Male lions stay guarding the territory. 

A group of lions are called a pride. It's known that male lions have fantastic long hair called manes which is considered their crowning glory. However, some male lions have short manes depending on the species and climate they live in. A hotter climate has lion males with shorter hair. Lions are the only species of feline (cat family) that roars together as a group. They and even their young join in a chorus of lion roars. This can be heard for several miles. Roaring is a sign of dominance within their own territory. Also unlike other cat species, lions can live in groups that can be as many as up to 30 lions. 

There were lions living in Europe and even in the British Isles once upon a time. In France a prehistoric lion skull was discovered and it was found in Montmaurin, Haute-Garron. Now it's in the Muséum de Toulouse. The very first prehistoric lion fossil was found in Southern Germany. There were, in human recorded memory, lions existing still in places such as South Europe and across the Balkans, but faded away during the 2nd century BCE, with some species of lion being found further eastwards into Russia until the 10th century CE, with a trail extending southwards towards Armenia and Türkiye. 

Lions tend to be very lazy and can sleep all day! 

Storm Valkyrie