Lions and the savanna
Your child meets a lion family, lines up savanna animals from small to tall, brings them to the watering hole, reads tracks in the sand and feeds everyone the right food. Every word is read aloud, so no reading is needed.
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Inside the game
Lion family
Tap the daddy lion, the mommy lion and the cubs to hear how a lion family lives, and hear a lion roar.
Who is tallest?
Tap seven animals, from a small meerkat to a giraffe, and see how tall each one is next to your child.
Watering hole
Drag the animals to the watering hole and switch from day to night.
Tracks
Look at the footprints in the sand and drag each animal to its own tracks.
Food
Give six hungry animals the right food: meat, leaves, grass, fruit or a beetle.
Fun facts
Short facts about lions, giraffes, zebras and more, read aloud, each with a picture.
Memory
Find the matching pairs of savanna animals: 4, 6 or 8 pairs.
Quiz
Ten questions. Every right answer is a paw print, and the lion cub grows into a big lion.
Facts for kids
Word for word as the game reads them aloud.
The roar
A lion's roar is so loud that you can hear it from eight kilometers away. It says: this is our home!
Sleepyheads
Lions sleep and rest for up to twenty hours a day, mostly in the shade of a tree.
The mane
Only daddy lions have a mane. The bigger and darker the mane, the stronger the lion looks to the other lions.
Mom hunts
The lionesses do most of the hunting. They sneak up quietly and work together as a team. Lions eat meat: zebras and antelopes.
Spotty cubs
Lion cubs are born with spots. The spots fade as they grow. All the moms in the pride look after all the cubs together.
A big family
Lions are the only cats that live in a big family. The family is called a pride.
The giraffe
The giraffe is the tallest animal in the world. Its tongue is dark blue and almost half a meter long: perfect for picking leaves from thorny trees.
The elephant
The elephant is the biggest animal on land. Its trunk has no bones at all. It drinks, smells, hugs and even trumpets with it.
Zebra stripes
Every zebra has its own stripes, just like you have your own fingerprint. No two zebras look the same.
The cheetah
The cheetah is the fastest animal on land. It runs as fast as a car on the highway! The leopard looks a lot like it, but it has little rings instead of spots, and it climbs trees.
The hippo
The hippo lies in the water all day to keep cool. It cannot really swim: it walks along the bottom. At night it comes out to eat grass.
Meerkats
Meerkats live in a big group in burrows under the ground. One of them always stands guard on its hind legs and calls out when it sees an eagle.
The savanna
The savanna is in Africa: grass as far as you can see, a few acacia trees, and lots and lots of animals. Half the year it is dry, and half the year it rains.
Questions kids ask
Why does a lion roar?
To tell other lions that this is its home, and to call its family. A roar is so loud that you can hear it about 8 kilometers (5 miles) away.
Why does only the daddy lion have a mane?
The mane shows other lions how big and strong he is. Mommy lions, called lionesses, have no mane, and some daddy lions only have a small one.
Who does the hunting in a lion family?
Mostly the lionesses. They sneak up quietly and hunt together as a team, usually at night or at dusk and dawn.
How long do lions sleep?
Up to about 20 hours a day. They rest in the shade when it is hot and are busiest when it gets cool.
What is a pride?
A pride is a lion family: several lionesses, their cubs and one or a few males. Lions are the only cats that live together in big groups.
Why do lion cubs have spots?
Lion cubs are born with spots on their fur, which help them stay hidden in the grass. The spots fade as they grow up.
Which animal is the tallest?
The giraffe. A grown-up giraffe is about 5 meters tall, as tall as a two-story house, so it can eat leaves at the top of acacia trees.
Do all zebras look the same?
No. Every zebra has its own pattern of black and white stripes, a bit like your own fingerprint.
Which animal runs the fastest?
The cheetah. For a short sprint it runs as fast as a car on the highway, faster than any other animal on land.
Can a hippo swim?
Not really. A hippo walks and bounces along the bottom of the river. It stays in the water all day to keep cool and comes out at night to eat grass.
What does an elephant do with its trunk?
Almost everything: it smells, drinks, picks food, sprays water and hugs with it. The trunk has no bones, only muscles.
What is a savanna?
A wide, warm land with grass and a few trees. The biggest savannas are in Africa, and they have a dry season and a rainy season.
Talk about it
- If you were a savanna animal, which one would you be, and why?
- Who is taller than you on the savanna, and who is smaller?
- Why do you think so many animals come to the watering hole?
A savanna animal walk
Take turns moving like a savanna animal: walk tall like a giraffe, stomp like an elephant, sneak like a lioness or stand guard like a meerkat. The other person guesses the animal, then you swap.
Facts checked against San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: Lion, National Geographic: African lion, African Wildlife Foundation: Giraffe. Last checked October 13, 2026. Who makes Play & Learn