All blood running out when the prey was opened was carefully licked up, hardly any was ever wasted. This licking up of the blood may have given rise to the habit of extensive and frequent licking of the carcass, even the unbroken skin, where no blood is evident.
Sources suggest that a lion’s tongue is as rough as sandpaper. It is covered in tiny spines, called "papillae", which face backwards and are used to scrape meat from bones and dirt from fur.
Lions are part of the cat family and are similar to pet cats in more ways that you would imagine. At the same time, we must never forget that they are the King of Beasts; fierce, strong and majestic.
Learn more about lions at Lionalert.org.