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Are lions good mothers?

April 26, 2017good lions mothers

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Are lions good mothers?

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Yes and no. Females have a short gestation period (110 days) and therefore have not invested a great deal in their offspring at birth (in contrast to elephants who are pregnant for 22 months). Females can be neglectful of their young cubs and some are more nurturing than others. As with human mothers some enjoy feeding their young while others find it difficult and some find it very unpleasant. Lions suckle communally but the burden of the suckling lies on the most receptive females. As the cubs mature and the females have invested more time, the adults become more protective. One or two females will remain with the sub-adults until they reach maturity thereby delaying their opportunity to breed again. These females and the sub-adults will live in peripheral areas of the territory while the other females start mating again.