Lion

Lions live in social groups known as prides, made up of one or more mature males, several closely-related females and their young. Males roar and spray urine to advertise their territory to rivals. Females work in teams to take down prey, encircling the prey and blocking escape routes. The lionesses do most of the hunting but the dominant male gets the lion’s share. Only after he’s had his fill do the females have their turn. The young can only pick at the remains.

The only cat to sport one, the mane is believed to protect the lion’s throat from the bites of other males during territorial fights. Females prefer males with prominent dark manes, which are more likely to be stronger, more experienced males that would stay on with the pride and protect the females and their cubs for longer. Studies have confirmed that a heavy-maned lion signals health and strength to rival males, prompting them to think twice before challenging him.

Lions are running on a tight schedule when it comes to passing on their genes to the next generation. Females space out their births every two years but prides also typically change leadership every two years. Given the short timeframe, lions taking over a new pride would routinely kill all cubs so that females can come on heat quickly to breed. Some females may die defending their young but those that survive will be ready to mate with the new pride leaders in 2–3 weeks’ time. This is Nature’s way of `quality control’ to ensure that only strong individuals get to pass on their genes to maintain the health of the species.