Sleeping Lion on a Cloud

About this drawing

A sleeping lion is really a lion saving up energy for later. Lions may spend as many as twenty hours a day lying around, snoozing or dozing with one ear open. That makes them some of the sleepiest animals on the savanna, and napping is a big part of their everyday routine.

All that rest has a good reason behind it. Chasing food under a hot sun takes a huge amount of energy, so a lion can't afford to waste any. Meat is also very filling. After a big meal, a lion doesn't need to eat again for a while, and it can lie still while its body digests the food.

Midday is usually the quietest time. The sun is at its hottest, so lions flop down in the shade and barely move. Things change as evening comes. They wake up, stretch, yawn and start walking around. Cooler air makes moving easier, and their eyes work very well in low light, so they are much busier at dusk and during the night.

Lions like company at nap time too. They often sleep in a heap, leaning on one another, and sometimes roll onto their backs with their paws in the air. A group of lions has few enemies, so they can relax like this out in the open. Cubs nap a lot as well, because all that playing makes them tired and sleep helps them grow.

• lion
• wild animals
• bedtime
• moon and stars
• night