Lions Flashcards
How many females in a lion pride
3-12
How many adults in a lion pride
1-6
Who hunts in lion prides
Female
Who defends the pride, young and territory in lion prides
Males
Females are naturally philopatric - what does this mean
Remain in pride for their entire life
Between what ages can female lions reproduce
4-18
Who is smaller - female lions or male lions
Female lions
Describe the life of a male lion
Leave natal pride after 3 years
Spend several years as nomads before attempting to take over a pride
After a successful take over, lion will remain with pride until driven out by a new male
Short reproductive life
Why is a males size important
Male-male conflicts
What are the downsides to a large body
Need 7kg of meat a day
What do darker manes signal
Aggression and greater fighting ability
What do males with darker names suffer from
More heat stress
Defective sperm
Do female lions have a breeding season
No - reproduce throughout the year
Why do pride females show synchronised oestrous
Individuals pheromones influence entire pride
What are the advantages of cubs being born at the same time
Crèches can be formed within the pride. Mum can leave cub with other females while hunting and other females can feed cub so mum isn’t tied down to set feeding time. Means 5 or 6 females can hunt at once rather than 1 or 2
If cubs born at the same time, they will have companions when they leave the pride
Why do female lions help with hunting, cub defence and suckling
Within a pride the females share a high proportion of alleles with each other and the cubs. Cooperation links to kin selection - look after cubs then their fitness increases
Why do female lions copulate lots
Need physical stimulation to release egg
How long are females on heat for
2-4 days every month
How often do females copulate
Every 15 minutes
How many cubs survive to adulthood
Less than 20%
How many copulations per cub that survives to adulthood
3000
What are the advantages of copulating lots
Reduces risk to female and reduces time wasted as a result of male-male conflict over who gets to copulate with female
Male lions kill the cubs of other males. If the female copulates with lots of males then it creates uncertainty as to who the father is so the cubs are not killed - pride males will treat them as their own even if they’re not
Why do males kill the cubs of other males
Increases their own reproductive success
What infanticide by male lions
The killing of cubs that do not belong to the male - happens when male takes over a new pride
What causes the spontaneous miscarriage of mice
Urine of an unfamiliar male
What is the function of infanticide by males
Female lions ovulate less due to breast feeding - takes up to 20 months to ovulate again. By killing the cubs, females ovulate again within 5 months. Male lions have short reproductive lives so is advantageous to kill cubs so they can produce more of their own cubs
Do females defend their cubs from pride male
Yes to a certain point - don’t want to get hurt. 2 females can fight 1 male but males are still bigger and stronger
What do females do if their cubs are killed
Copulate with pride males. This draws in other male lions and the females copulate with them. This makes the pride bigger and stronger as contains lots of males
Why do male lions work together
Individuals benefit from being in a larger group
When males work together their reproductive success increases - true of false
True
