Social Behavior: Dunston (2016) And Her Team

lions display certain so social behaviors. Dunston (2016) and her team observed lions for three sessions in a day, including morning, afternoon and evening. According to Dunston (2016), lions spend around 60% of the time resting. Most of the time being spent in the second session, which might indicate that lions rest in order to conserve energy when the temperature is highest. Hunting behavior was also observed by Dunston (2016) and her team.

Lions belong to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family Felidae, Genus Panthera and Species Panthera leo (Yuan and Chan 2008). Lions are related to other big cats such as the jaguar (Panthera onca), leopard (Panthera pardus) and the tiger (Panthera tigris) (Yuan

A lion’s length is variable and can range from 2.05 m to 3.5 m, while reaching a maximum height of 1.09 m (Yuan and Chan 2008). A lion’s weight can hover between 120-250 kg (Yuan and Chan 2008). Their fur can range from pale yellow to brownish orange or golden (Yuan and Chan 2008). Their jaws and forelimbs are very powerful (Yuan and Chan 2008).

The well-known mane present only in the male lion often resembles a crown and hence being associated with being the king of the jungle. According to West and Packer (2002), a better nutrition and optimal levels of testosterone both play a role in the pigment of the mane. The color of the mane will then go on to influence mating with female and the ability to fend off other male competitors (West and Packer 2002). In their study, West and Packer (2002) noticed that female lions would prefer male lions with darker manes for mating. As mentioned before, having a dark mane requires high testosterone, and this hormone is associated with increased musculature in males and therefoere a stronger male lion is able to care for the cubs, capture bigger prey in order to feed more members of the pride, and fight against other competitors that are trying to eat the cubs or kill other members of the pride such as the female. In their study, West and Packer (2002) used two model lions to test their hypothesis. A lot of lionesses approached the darker mane while male lions approached the more lighter

The size of the territory occupied by prides aren’t necesarilly dependent on the size of any given pride (Spong 2002). Prides will live in habitats mostly determined by the availability of prey (Spong 2002). This might indicate that lion’s might be limited due to availability of prey. Due to this fact, lions will live in habitats such the savannah and plains (Harrington 2004). According to Spong (2002), who studied how lions use territorial space, lions will prefer using spaces near riverine and short grass areas. This is because prey frequent bodies of water especially in dry season. (Spong 2002). So again, lions will mostly be around lakeshores or waterholes ready to ambush prey even though there might be more prey density elsewhere, lions will be comfortable waiting for unsuspecting prey (Spong 2002). Lions are clever hunters. They avoid exhaustive chase because they can only sprint for so long before getting tired and prefer using cunning stealth and attack via ambush (Yuan and Chan 2008). Usually female go out to hunt at night because they don’t have a mane which can give male lions’ position away (Harrington 2004). They mostly eat wildebeest, zebras, and larger prey if possible such as buffalo or giraffe (Harrington 2004). Male lions compete to control reproduction in a polygonous fashion (Harrington 2004). During a female lions’ estrus, the biggest male will follow her until she is ready to copulate by laying down and stretching her back (Lion