The lion is a majestic animal that represents the king of the jungle. However, even the lion has a soft side. As with most creatures on this planet, when it comes to their offspring, they will defend them with their lives. Their offspring is symbolic of carrying on their genes. In the same note, it also puts the cubs lives in danger if another lion tries to mate with the mother. They will kill any offspring from the other lion. That being said, that lion would have to fight to get there because the parents of the cub will fight until death. This is a very symbolic image and that is why people will get the lion and cub tattoo.

In this post we will talk about the lion and cub tattoo and what it symbolizes in the form of a tattoo. We must understand the habits of the lion and how they react with their cubs to understand the symbolic tones of this tattoo. By the end of this post we hope you have a better understanding of what the lion and cub tattoo symbolizes and why people are getting this tattoo at a high clip.

About the Lion and Their Cubs

Typically, a lioness will birth between one and four cubs in a litter. Because cubs are slow developers, the lioness keeps them hidden from all animals. The cubs are completely helpless for a while and can’t even open their eyes until they’re between 3 and 11 days old. The lioness will introduce the cubs to the pride and about 8 weeks.

The saying, “it takes a village to raise a child”, rings true and even more so with the lions and their cubs. Since they all give birth around the same time, the lioness watch and protect each other’s young. However, if there is another lioness with cubs 3 months or older, the lioness with the new young will not rejoin the pride because there isn’t enough milk to go around and the other cubs will grow stronger while the smaller cubs starve.