subject: The Stuffed Lion and All About The Real Thing [print this page] The Stuffed Lion and All About The Real Thing
For the child that has 'everything,' why not consider a stuffed lion the next time another soft toy is going to 'mysteriously' make its way into your home. A stuffed lion can be purchased in a variety of sizes including some that are so life-like [in size], just for a moment, a child might even think it's the real thing!
In many civilizations, lions have been depicted as symbols of power, nobility, and courage and can be found adorning family crests, national flags, and coats of arms. At one time, they could be found living in areas from Greece right through to the Middle East and Northern India. Today, however, only very small populations still live in India. Lions were also found in most parts of Africa in the past, but are now only located in the sub-Saharan region.
Unlike most wild cats, lions don't live a solitary life; their way of living in a social system is based on teamwork, a division of labor, and a large extended family unit that is generally closed to outsiders. An average pride of lions is made up of 15 cats 5 to 10 females, their young offspring, and 2 or 3 males. These male lions are usually brothers or friends of the pride who have a formed an alliance to protect the females. If and when males take over an existing pride, they will usually kill the cubs so that females will be ready to mate again and they can then sire their own offspring.
Female lions usually give birth to two or three cubs, each weighing in at about 3 pounds. While most mothers will nurture their babies, some will abandon them altogether, especially if there is not enough food. Typically, two or more females in the pride will give birth at the same time and as a result, all the cubs will be raised together. If necessary, females will allow cubs that aren't theirs to drink their milk, which will sometimes give the chance for a neglected cub to survive. By the time cubs reach two years of age, they are very adept hunters. They are fully grown between the ages of 5 and 6 can live for up to 13 years.
Given lions work as a team when they hunt, they are able to take down prey much bigger than they are hippos, rhinos, giraffes, and even buffalo can be on the menu. More than 50 percent of their food intake, however, comes from scavenged remains, often taking over kills that were made by other meat eating animals. 85-90 percent of the hunting is done by females, in which they set up an ambush to drive the prey to where they want it before they attack. Whatever a lion kills, it's never shared equally within the pride. In fact, when food is limited, juvenile lions may not live very long given hungry females are not prone to sharing.
Stuffed lion toys never have to worry about going hungry given they don't require any sustenance to stay 'alive.' Like all soft toys, however, a stuffed lion will need special attention it's going to thrive as it should with its new owner; lots of love and care should be on the daily 'menu.' While a stuffed lion doesn't have to live in a pride like the real thing, having more than one of them around, never hurts.
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Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
