Chapters 18 through 20 Summary and Analysis

Chapter 18: Lions with No Pride

Mark and Delia are observing the Deception Valley lions during the oppressively hot season. Although most of the grazing animals have vanished, the lions remain. The dominant males, Moffet and Muffin, of the Blue Pride now have to do some of their own hunting. They see Moffet chase a chicken-size fowl and a rabbit—hardly adequate meals for the king of the jungle. The females in the Blue Pride have split up so their meager kills can be divided among fewer diners. Chary and Sassy, the new mothers, have to travel up to ten miles every night to find food. Mark and Delia are realizing that the lions do not migrate in the true sense of the word. Rather, they expand their territory and change their diets and eating and hunting behaviors. Unfortunately...