Our big cats know us almost as well as we know them. They recognise voices, and respond differently to individual keepers. They can get thrown off by something unusual such as a keeper wearing a beanie or a certain type of jacket, and they won’t settle until he or she removes these items.

That’s right. Big cats love to play and will bat toys around, and chase balls. They can pretend they haven’t been fed, and if they think you’ll get them something else by waiting long enough, they’re prepared to wait.

A lion’s 30 teeth include four huge canine teeth that can grow up to seven centimetres long and help them tear skin and rip meat away. They also have sharp carnassials which scissor their dinner like a knife at the back of their jaws, and right at the front, they have a set of small incisors which they use to hold and rip their food. They have a very big bite at up to 28 centimetres.