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ACTIVITIES: Lions spend 20 hours out of 24 conserving energy,
becoming active in late afternoon when mothers retrieve,
suckle, and socialize with young cubs and one anothe. The
Lion hunts early and late nights, carrying over for a couple
hours after daybreak. Lions can become active any time,
day or night, hungry or gorged, if prey are an easy catch.
THE FEMALE PRIDE: The family units of lion society are prides
of related females, each pride residing in a traditional
home range/territory. Male offspring have to leave by 2.5
years. Adult males must compete with other males to gain
custody of a pride. The number of adult females in a pride
is adjusted to seasons of minimum prey availability and
tends to be consistent over time. Surplus females have to
disperse; if the membership falls below capacity, subadult
nomads are accepted in the absence of recruits from within
the pride.
Large prides, which can include up to 40 lions, may never
assemble in one place. Members come and go unpredictably,
alone and in groups, typically numbering 3 to 5 lions. There
is no rank hierarchy among females and no 2 are likely to
be found together more than half the time. But all residents
are acquainted and whenever they meet, the lion greeting
ceremony reaffirms their social ties. A lion without the
self assurance to meet and greet sends a signal that it
doesn't belong and is treated as an intruder. Each sex defends
the part of the pride range in current use against intruders
of the same gender.
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