http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5h5_JKvuXghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onbb3eEO ... re=relatedThe mating ritual in lions involves a lot of physical rubbing and presenting leading up to the copulation event. Female lionesses engage in a lot of headrubbing towards male lions and then begin their sexual displays. Lionesses will lift their hindleg with their front paw or roll onto their back and bite at their hindlegs. Similarly, females will “present” by lowering their forebody and arching their back and hindlegs. The females do the presentation, and the males choose the estrous female they want. However, the choice pretty much means whichever presenting estrous female they run into first.
Lion mating is notoriously quick, repetitive, and unsuccessful. The male usually initiates copulation with a mating snarl which is intended to excite the female. If the female does not respond, the male lion may lick her neck, back, or shoulders until she complies. The enticed female will then crouch down, and the male lion will quickly mount her. The male lion during copulation will usually bite the neck of the female and let out a loud roar during and immediately after ejaculation. The male will then move away from the female as the female rolls on her back and stretches her legs. The mating activity generally lasts for about four days. Copulation lasts about 30-70 seconds and is repeated once every 25 minutes during the four day period .