Lions are the only cats that live in groups, which are dominated by females. Older cubs are raised together as a creche, or nursery group, as seen here in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
Adult females and large cubs of the Vumbi pride feast on a wildebeest in Serengeti National Park. Lionesses are responsible for hunting most of the pride's food.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
Social licking helps to reinforce bonds within the pride.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
Vumbi females, stressed and fiercely protective of their young, get cross with C-Boy, an adult male, even though he's one of the resident fathers.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
A lioness from the Barafu pride in Serengeti National Park wrangles her infant cubs.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
An adult male lion, C-Boy, and a Vumbi female relax between matings.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
Members of the Vumbi pride set out on an evening hunt.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
A pair of lion cubs from the Barafu pride play with their mother's tail.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
Lionesses and cubs from the Vumbi pride rest on a kopje, a rocky outcrop, near a favourite water hole.
Photograph by Michael Nichols, Nat Geo Image Collection
