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.
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.
Social licking helps to reinforce bonds within the pride.
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.
A lioness from the Barafu pride in Serengeti National Park wrangles her infant cubs.
An adult male lion, C-Boy, and a Vumbi female relax between matings.
Members of the Vumbi pride set out on an evening hunt.
A pair of lion cubs from the Barafu pride play with their mother's tail.
Lionesses and cubs from the Vumbi pride rest on a kopje, a rocky outcrop, near a favourite water hole.