Group hunts and nurseries to raise children — get an inside look at the complex social structures of lions.
Contrary to most other cats, lions are social beings.
Lions live in groups called prides, which typically consist of females (lionesses), their dependent offspring, and a coalition or band of two-three resident males. These prides defend their territory, which ranges from 20 square km (8 square miles) or as far a 400 square km, and may belong to some prides for generations.
Because they are fission-fusion societies, the size of a pride varies over time and sometimes throughout the day — breaking off into smaller groups (fission) to hunt before coming back together to sleep (fusion).
Prides are matriarchal — lionesses taking charge and calling the shots. They have agency over decisions involving hunting, territory protection, and even which males they do and do not want around. Whereas most social mammals maintain some form of hierarchical ranking; lionesses within a pride share a sisterhood. Lionesses show preference to companions of the same sex and even give birth to cubs around the same time — raising them together in crèches. And unlike males, who are transitory, most lionesses stay with the pride they were born into, making them generationally linked.
As they roam, males rarely travel alone. Competition is too fierce. For that reason, lions form coalitions. These coalitions range in size, about two to seven male lions strong. Once a male is sired, they will typically be with their coalition partners for life. One of the most legendary lion coalitions was that of the Mapogo (“Vigilante” or “Rogue”) lions.
This coalition, which controlled the Sabi Sand region in Kruger National Park for six years, were a band of brothers that gained a fierce, aggressive reputation, rumored to have killed as many as 40 lions, and established dominance over eight prides. Read more about them here.
As lions face greater hardships due to human-driven activity, the health and stability of the pride, and thus the ecosystems they are a part of, only becomes more vulnerable. This WORLD LION DAY, help protect the pride by donating to those organizations working in lion conservation.
