Lions – Social Behavior
Lions are predatory carnivores who manifest two types of social organization. Some are residents, living in groups, called prides. The pride consists of related females, their cubs of both sexes, and a group of one to four males known as a coalition who mate with the adult females. Others are nomads, ranging widely, either singly or in pairs.
Being smaller and lighter than males, lionesses are more agile and faster and do the pride’s hunting, while the stronger males patrol the territory and protect the pride, for which they take the “lion’s share” of the females’ prey. When resting, lions seem to enjoy good fellowship with lots of touching, head rubbing, licking and purring. But when it comes to food, each lion looks out for itself. Squabbling and fighting are common, with adult males usually eating first, followed by the females and then the cubs.
Both males and females will defend the pride against intruders. Some individual lions consistently lead the defense against intruders, while others lag behind (Heinsohn and Packer 1995). These “laggards” are not punished by leaders. Possibly laggards provide other services to the group so that leaders forgive them (Morrell 1995). An alternative hypothesis is that there is some reward associated with being a leader who fends off intruders (Jahn 1995).
Typically, males will not tolerate outside males, and females will not tolerate outside females. Males are expelled from the pride or leave on their own when they reach maturity.
Lions spend a lot of their time resting. They are inactive for about 20 hours per day.
Categories: Lions
