Twenty hours of the day are spent resting or asleep. Another two hours dozing... and, oh yes, time to get up and preserve my reputation as an unfathomably powerful predator.
But first... just a little more sleep. Sorry if I'm shattering your notions of Lion behaviour. They do earn their prodigious rest with amazing displays of predatory prowess and general carnivorous intensity. It's just that seeing those moments takes tremendous luck and once-in-a-lifetime timing. Most of the time they lay prone, breathing heavily, waiting out the heat, and biding their time.
Don't think you should get out of the car though. It would be the equivalent of a warm blueberry muffin magically appearing next to you first thing in the morning... it wouldn't stand a chance. The lions ignore the cars, basically treating them like big moving rocks, but a person hopping out of one would likely cause some excitement.
In the video below, you see that they often get up just to find a better place to get back down.
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/35615892 w=590&h=332]
When the resting is over it is time for the hunt. Night is falling and these two lionesses and a young male are preparing to ruin a wildebeest's night.
Stretching out those sleepy muscles in preparation.
The male stays behind to continue his rest but keeps a close eye on things.
Another preparation for hunting involves shedding excess weight. Not the sort of thing you normally see on nature shows but that's exactly why I include it here. Ladies and Gentlemen, pooping lions.
