SOLVED. YA Fantasy about talking lions; main character was a black lion (I think?) [s]

[Katie]

I read this book sometime in the late eightes to early nineties. I can't remember if it was a library book or from the school book list. What I can remember is that the story is about a group (poss multiple groups) or lions or big cats. Like Watership Down but with lions. The main lion was black, I remember there being something about him being an outcast or just looked down on. I really can't remember much more other than a scene where he was with a female lion at a watering hole. Thanks for any help!

[Tab]

Do you remember anything about the plot?
Any human characters or other types of animals?
Remember the cover?
Time period/location story takes place?
Part of a series?

[SBC]

Could it be one of Clare Bell's big cat books? Either Tomorrow's Sphinx (black cheetah) or Ratha's Creature.

There are also some lists of big cat books on Listopia which might be worth a look, e.g. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

[Katie]

SBC wrote: "Could it be one of Clare Bell's big cat books? Either Tomorrow's Sphinx (black cheetah) or Ratha's Creature.

There are also some lists of big cat books on Listopia whic..."

Thanks so much! Ratha's Creature is the book I was trying to remember. I thought it might have been part of a series but I just couldn't remember hardly anything about it. I really appreciate that you posted!

Kind Regards,
Katie

[SBC]

That's great! I can't remember much about it either, but I thought it was worth mentioning, so I'm glad it helped!