"Joining The Pride"

"After a gestation period of about three months, a lioness will go off on her own and seek an isolated, sheltered place to give birth to between two and four cubs. Born with their eyes closed, these four-pound bundles of fur quickly grow, and by six weeks, they are busy exploring their shelter. They begin to eat meat at this age, and soon their mother introduces them to her pride. Joining a group that may include several litters of cubs of similar age is a time of social bonding that will be the collective lifeline for years to come for the world's only social cat." John Banovich