SpringerLink
Log in

Social Strategies of the African Lion

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Social Strategies of Carnivorous Mammalian Predators

Part of the book series: Fascinating Life Sciences ((FLS))

  • 864 Accesses

  • The original version of the chapter has been revised. The source line of the artistic illustration has been changed to give credit to the actual photographer – Stotra Chakrabarti. The correction to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29803-5_10

Abstract

Within the realm of social carnivores, lions (Panthera leo) are the sole representative of the large felids. While other Felidae may tolerate temporary associations with dependent offspring or receptive members of the opposite sex, lions are the only big cat where both males and females live in permanent social units. Each sex forms independent groups that come together to engage in a wide variety of social behaviors, including cooperative hunting, mutual defense of kills, cooperative territorial defense, and communal raising of young. Unique patterns of egalitarianism and flexible fission-fusion dynamics make this social structure distinctive among mammals. The bulk of our knowledge on the evolutionary drivers of lion sociality has been derived from extensive studies of populations inhabiting mesic and productive eastern African savanna systems. However, lions across Africa occupy a wide variety of habitat types, including arid deserts, seasonally flooded wetlands, and densely thicketed scrub. Comparison of lion behavior and interactions across their range reveals that their social strategies are highly plastic and adapt to maximize survival and fitness under prevailing local conditions. In this chapter, we first review the ultimate drivers of lion gregariousness based on research from eastern Africa and discuss how lions optimize individual fitness under constraints imposed by group-living. We then explore how variation in proximate drivers of social living (i.e., resource availability, intensity of inter- and intra-specific competition, and habitat structure) can shape the expression of social behavior. We end with a discussion of the social adaptations lions make to survive in increasingly human-dominated landscapes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Change history

  • 03 November 2023

    A correction has been published.

References

  • Anderson, C., & Franks, N. R. (2001). Teams in animal societies. Behavioral Ecology, 12, 534–540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. R. (2007). Animal behavior: tolerant primates cooperate best. Current Biology, 17(7), R242–R244.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bacher, H., Packer, C., Funston, P. F., Henschel, P., & Nowell, K. (2016). Panthera leo. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balme, G. A., Miller, J. R., Pitman, R. T., & Hunter, L. T. (2017). Caching reduces kleptoparasitism in a solitary, large felid. Journal of Animal Ecology, 86(3), 634–644.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, R., Yamaguchi, N., Barnes, I., & Cooper, A. (2006). The origin, current diversity and future conservation of the modern lion (Panthera leo). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 273, 2119–2125.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, H. (2003). Lion social behaviour in the West and Central African savannah belt. Mammalian Biology—Zeitschrift fur Saugetierkunde, 68, 239–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, H., Chapron, G., Nowell, K., Henschel, P., Funston, P., Hunter, L. T. B., Macdonald, D. W., & Packer, C. (2015). Lion (Panthera leo) populations are declining rapidly across Africa, except in intensively managed areas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(48), 14894–14899.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, H., & Van Der Merwe, S. (2004). Inventory of free-ranging lions Panthera leo in Africa. Oryx, 38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, H., Vanherle, N., Di Silvestre, I., & De Iongh, H. H. (2008). Lion–prey relations in West and Central Africa. Mammalian Biology, 73(1), 70–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekoff, M., & Daniels, T. J. (1984). Life history patterns and the comparative social ecology of carnivores. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 15, 191–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertola, L. D., Jongbloed, H., van der Gaag, K. J., de Knijff, P., Yamaguchi, N., Hooghiemstra, H., Bauer, H., Henschel, P., White, P. A., Driscoll, C. A., Tende, T., Ottosson, U., Saidu, Y., Vrieling, K., & de Iongh, H. H. (2016). Phylogeographic patterns in Africa and high resolution delineation of genetic clades in the lion (Panthera leo). Scientific Reports, 6(1), 1–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bertram, B. (1975). Social factors influencing reproduction in wild lions. Journal of Zoology, 177(4), 463–482.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhalla, S. (2017). Demography and ranging behaviour of lions (Panthera leo) within a human-occupied landscape in northern Kenya. PhD Thesis. University of Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boesch, C., & Boesch, H. (1989). Hunting behavior of wild chimpanzees in the Tai National Park. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 78, 547–573.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borrego, N. (2017). Big cats as a model system for the study of the evolution of intelligence. Behavioral Processes, 141, 261–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borrego, N. (2020). Socially tolerant lions (Panthera leo) solve a novel cooperative problem. Animal Cognition, 23, 327–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borrego, N., & Dowling, B. (2016). Lions (Panthera leo) solve, learn, and remember a novel resource acquisition problem. Animal Cognition, 19, 1019–1025.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borrego, N., & Gaines, M. (2016). Social carnivores outperform asocial carnivores on an innovative problem. Animal Behaviour, 114, 21–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borrego, N., Ozgul, A., Slotow, R., & Packer, C. (2018). Lion population dynamics: do nomadic males matter? Behavioral Ecology, 29, 660–666.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouley, P., Poulos, M., Branco, R., & Carter, N. H. (2018). Post-war recovery of the African lion in response to large-scale ecosystem restoration. Biological Conservation, 227, 233–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bygott, J. D., Bertram, B., & Hanby, J. P. (1979). Male lions in large coalitions gain reproductive advantages. Nature, 282, 839–841.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, R. W., & Whiten, A. (1988). Machiavellian Intelligence: social expertise and the evolution of intellect in monkeys, apes, and humans. Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caraco, T., & Wolf, L. L. (1975). Ecological determinants of group sizes in foraging lions. The American Naturalist, 109, 343–352.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carbone, C., Maddox, T., Funston, P. J., Mills, M. G., Grether, G. F., & Van Valkenburgh, B. (2009). Parallels between playbacks and Pleistocene tar seeps suggest sociality in an extinct sabretooth cat, Smilodon. Biology Letters, 5, 81–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Celesia, G. G., Peterson, A. T., Peterhans, J. C. K., & Gnoske, T. P. (2010). Climate and landscape correlates of African lion (Panthera leo) demography. African Journal of Ecology, 48, 58–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, S. M. (1991). Optimal hunting group size: the need for lions to defend kills against loss to spotted hyaenas. African Journal of Ecology, 29, 130–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, Z., Valeix, M., Loveridge, A. J., Madzikanda, H., & Macdonald, D. W. (2011). Socio-spatial behaviour of African lion population following perturbation by sport hunting. Biological Conservation, 144, 114–121.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davies, A. B., Tambling, C. J., Kerley, G. I., & Asner, G. P. (2016). Effects of vegetation structure on the location of lion kill sites in African thicket. PLoS One, 11, e0149098.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dolrenry, S. (2013). African lion (Panthera leo) behavior, monitoring, and survival in human-dominated landscapes. PhD Thesis. The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drea, C. M., & Carter, A. N. (2009). Cooperative problem solving in a social carnivore. Animal Behaviour, 78, 967–977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Druce, D., Genis, H., Braak, J., Greatwood, S., Delsink, A., Kettles, R., & Slotow, R. (2004). Population demography and spatial ecology of a reintroduced lion population in the greater Makalali Conservancy, South Africa. Koedoe, 47(1), 103–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunbar, R. I., & Bever, J. (1998). Neocortex size predicts group size in carnivores and some insectivores. Ethology, 104, 695–708.

    Google Scholar 

  • East, R. (1984). Rainfall, soil nutrient status and biomass of large African savanna mammals. African Journal of Ecology, 22, 245–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, N. B., Cushman, S. A., Loveridge, A. J., Mtare, G., & Macdonald, D. W. (2014). Movements vary according to dispersal stage, group size, and rainfall: the case of the African lion. Ecology, 95(10), 2860–2869.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, N. B., Cushman, S. A., Macdonald, D. W., & Loveridge, A. J. (2014). The devil is in the dispersers: predictions of landscape connectivity change with demography. Journal of Applied Ecology, 51(5), 1169–1178.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, N. B., Valeix, M., Macdonald, D. W., & Loveridge, A. J. (2014). Social relationships affect dispersal timing revealing a delayed infanticide in African lions. Oikos, 123(9), 1049–1056.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank, L. G., Hemson, G., Kushnir, H., Packer, C., & Maclennan, S. D. (2008). Lions, conflict and conservation. In B. Croes, R. Buij, H. de Iongh, & H. Bauer (Eds.), Management and conservation of large carnivores in west and central Africa (pp. 81–98). Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fryxell, J. M., Mosser, A., Sinclair, A. R. E., & Packer, C. (2007). Group formation stabilizes predator–prey dynamics. Nature, 449, 1041–1043.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Funston, P. J., Mills, M. G. L., & Biggs, H. C. (2001). Factors affecting the hunting success of male and female lions in Kruger National Park. Journal of Zoology, 253(4), 419–431.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funston, P. J., Mills, M. G. L., Biggs, H. C., & Richardson, P. R. K. (1998). Hunting by male lions: ecological influences and socioecological implications. Animal Behaviour, 56, 1333–1345.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Funston, P. J., Mills, M. G. L., Richardson, P. R. K., & van Jaarsveld, A. S. (2003). Reduced dispersal and opportunistic territory acquisition in male lions (Panthera leo). Journal of Zoology, 259, 131–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilber, D. A., Packer, C., Pusey, A. E., Stephens, J. C., & O’Brian, J. S. (1991). Analytical DNA fingerprinting in lions: parentage, genetic diversity, and kinship. Journal of Heredity, 82, 378–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gittleman, J. L. (1986). Carnivore brain size, behavioral ecology, and phylogeny. Journal of Mammalogy, 67(1), 23–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gnoske, T. P., Celesia, G. G., & Kerbis Peterhans, J. C. (2006). Dissociation between mane development and sexual maturity in lions (Panthera leo): solution to the Tsavo riddle? Journal of Zoology, 270(4), 551–560.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grinnell, J. (2002). Modes of cooperation during territorial defense by African lions. Human Nature, 13, 85–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grinnell, J., & McComb, K. (1996). Maternal grou** as a defense against infanticide by males: Evidence from field playback experiments on African lions. Behavioral Ecology, 7, 55–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grinnell, J., Packer, C., & Pusey, A. E. (1995). Cooperation in male lions: kinship, reciprocity or mutualism? Animal Behaviour, 49, 95–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanby, J. P., & Bygott, J. D. (1987). Emigration of subadult lions. Animal Behaviour, 35, 161–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanby, J. P., Bygott, J. D., & Packer, C. (1995). Ecology, demography, and behavior of lions in two contrasting habitats: Ngorongoro crater and the Serengeti plains. In A. R. E. Sinclair (Ed.), Serengeti II dynamics, management, and conservation of an ecosystem. The University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, B. (2007). From nonhuman to human mind: what changed and why? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(2), 60–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (2005). The emotional reactivity hypothesis and cognitive evolution. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 464–465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinsohn, R. (1997). Group territoriality in two populations of African lions. Animal Behaviour, 53, 1143–1147.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heinsohn, R., & Packer, C. (1995). Complex cooperative strategies in group-territorial African lions. Science, 269, 1260–1262.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heinsohn, R., Packer, C., & Pusey, A. E. (1996). Development of cooperative territoriality in juvenile lions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 263, 475–479.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Higashi, M., & Yamamura, N. (1993). What determines animal group size? Insider-outsider conflict and it’s resolution. The American Naturalist, 142, 553–563.

    Google Scholar 

  • Höner, O. P., Wachter, B., East, M. L., & Hofer, H. (2002). The response of spotted hyaenas to long-term changes in prey populations: functional response and interspecific kleptoparasitism. Journal of Animal Ecology, 71(2), 236–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopcraft, J. G. C., Sinclair, A. R. E., & Packer, C. (2005). Planning for success: Serengeti lions seek prey accessibility rather than abundance. Journal of Animal Ecology, 74, 559–566.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, L. B. T. (1998). The behavioural ecology of reintroduced lions and cheetahs in the Phinda Resource Reserve, northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. PhD Thesis. University of Pretoria.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. D. P., Kays, R. W., Blackwell, P. G., & Macdonald, D. W. (2002). Does the resource dispersion hypothesis explain group living? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 17, 564–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kays, R. W., & Patterson, B. D. (2002). Mane variation in African lions and its social correlates. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80, 471–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kettles, R., & Slotow, R. (2009). Management of free-ranging lions on an enclosed game reserve. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 39(1), 23–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilian, P. J., & Bothma, J. D. P. (2003). Notes on the social dynamics and behaviour of reintroduced lions in the Welgevonden Private Game Reserve. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 33, 119–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kissui, B. M. (2008). Livestock predation by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and their vulnerability to retaliatory killing in the Maasai steppe, Tanzania. Animal Conservation, 11, 422–432.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kissui, B. M., Mosser, A., & Packer, C. (2009). Persistence and local extinction of lion prides in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. Population Ecology, 52, 103–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kissui, B. M., & Packer, C. (2004). Top-down population regulation of a top predator: lions in the Ngorongoro Crater. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 271(1550), 1867–1874.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kleiman, D. G., & Eisenberg, J. F. (1973). Comparisons of canid and felid social systems from an evolutionary perspective. Animal Behaviour, 21, 637–659.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kotze, R., Keith, M., Winterbach, C. W., Winterbach, H. E. K., & Marshal, J. P. (2018). The influence of social and environmental factors on organization of African lion (Panthera leo) prides in the Okavango Delta. Journal of Mammalogy, 99, 845–858.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kruuk, H. (1972). The spotted hyena: a study of predation and social behavior. Journal of Animal Ecology, 42, 822–824.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamprecht, J. (1981). The function of social hunting in larger terrestrial carnivores. Mammal Review, 11, 169–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehmann, M. B. (2007). The behavioural ecology of a solitary lion pride in Karongwe Game Reserve. PhD Thesis. Tshwane University of Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindsey, P. A., Roulet, P. A., & Romañach, S. S. (2007). Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Biological Conservation, 134, 455–469.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loveridge, A. J., Hemson, G., Davidson, Z., & Macdonald, D. W. (2010). African lions on the edge: Reserve boundaries as ‘attractive sinks’. Biology and conservation of wild felids, 283, 283–304.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loarie, S. R., Tambling, C. J., & Asner, G. P. (2013). Lion hunting behaviour and vegetation structure in an African savanna. Animal Behaviour, 85, 899–906.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loveridge, A. J., Searle, A. W., Murindagomo, F., & Macdonald, D. W. (2007). The impact of sport-hunting on the population dynamics of an African lion population in a protected area. Biological Conservation, 134(4), 548–558.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loveridge, A. J., Valeix, M., Chapron, G., Davidson, Z., Mtare, G., & Macdonald, D. W. (2016). Conservation of large predator populations: demographic and spatial responses of African lions to the intensity of trophy hunting. Biological Conservation, 204, 247–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W. (1983). The ecology of carnivore social behaviour. Nature, 301, 379–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., & Johnson, D. D. P. (2015). Patchwork planet: the resource dispersion hypothesis, society, and the ecology of life. Journal of Zoology, 295, 75–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., Johnson, P. J., Loveridge, A. J., & Jacobsen, K. S. (2017). Lions, trophy hunting and beyond: knowledge gaps and why they matter. Mammal Review, 47(4), 247–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macdonald, D. W., & Loveridge, A. J. (2010). The biology and conservation of wild felids (Vol. II). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattern, M. (2000). Phylogeny and speciation of felids. Cladistics, 16(2), 232–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mbizah, M. M., Farine, D. R., Valeix, M., Hunt, J. E., Macdonald, D. W., & Loveridge, A. J. (2020). Effect of ecological factors on fine-scale patterns of social structure in African lions. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89(11), 2665–2676.

    Google Scholar 

  • McComb, K., Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1994). Roaring and numerical assessment in contests between groups of female lions, Panthera leo. Animal Behaviour, 47, 379–387.

    Google Scholar 

  • McComb, K., Pusey, A., Packer, C., & Grinnell, J. (1993). Females lions can identify potentially infanticidal males from their roars. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 252(1333), 59–64.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McEvoy, O. K. (2019). The management of lions (Panthera leo) in small, fenced wildlife reserves. PhD Thesis. Rhodes University.

    Google Scholar 

  • McEvoy, O. K., Ferreira, S. M., & Parker, D. M. (2021). The influence of population demographics on lion (Panthera leo) growth rates in small, fenced wildlife reserves. African Journal of Wildlife Research, 51(1), 75–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meena, V. (2009). Variation in social organisation of lions with particular reference to the Asiatic lions Panthera leo persica (Carnivore: Felidae) of the Gir forest. India Journal of Threatened Taxa, 1, 158–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Midlane, N. (2013). The conservation status and dynamics of a protected African lion Panthera leo population in Kafue National Park, Zambia. PhD Thesis. University of Cape Town.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. M., Bissett, C., Parker, D. M., Burger, A., Courtenay, B., Dickerson, T., Naylor, S., Druce, D. J., Ferreira, S., Funston, P. J., Hofmeyr, D., Kilian, P. J., Matthews, W., Slotow, R., Toft, M., & Zimmermann, D. (2013). Management of reintroduced lions in small, fenced reserves in South Africa: an assessment and guidelines. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 43, 138–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. M., & Funston, P. (2014). Rapid growth rates of lion (Panthera leo) populations in small, fenced reserves in South Africa: a management dilema. South African Journal of Wildlife Research, 44, 43–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, M. G. M. (1990). Kalahari hyaenas: the comparative behavioural ecology of two species. Unwin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosser, A., Fryxell, J. M., Eberly, L., & Packer, C. (2009). Serengeti real estate: density vs. fitness-based indicators of lion habitat quality. Ecology Letters, 12, 1050–1060.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosser, A., & Packer, C. (2009). Group territoriality and the benefits of sociality in the African lion, Panthera leo. Animal Behaviour, 78, 359–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosser, A. A., Kosmala, M., & Packer, C. (2015). Landscape heterogeneity and behavioral traits drive the evolution of lion group territoriality. Behavioral Ecology, 26, 1051–1059.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mwape, H. (2020). Describing African lion (Panthera leo) behavior and space use in the Luangwa Valley ecosystem-Zambia. PhD Thesis. University of Wyoming.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noë, R. (2006). Cooperation experiments: coordination through communication versus acting apart together. Animal Behaviour, 71, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogada, M. O., Woodroffe, R., Oguge, N., & Frank, L. G. (2003). Limiting depredation by African carnivores: the role of livestock husbandry. Conservation Biology, 17, 1521–1530.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oriol-Cotterill, A., Macdonald, D. W., Ekwanga, S., & Frank, L. G. (2015). Spatiotemporal patterns of lion space use in a human-dominated landscape. Animal Behaviour, 1010, 27–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C. (1986). The ecology of sociality in felids. In D. I. W. Rubenstein (Ed.), Ecological aspects of social evolution: Birds and mammals. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C. (2000). Infanticide is no fallacy. American Anthropologist, 102(4), 829–831.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C. (2019). The African lion: a long history of interdisciplinary research. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Brink, H., Kissui, B. M., Maliti, H., Kushnir, H., & Caro, T. (2011). Effects of trophy hunting on lion and leopard populations in Tanzania. Conservation Biology, 25, 142–153.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Clottes, J. (2000). When lions ruled France. Natural History, 109(9), 52–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Gilbert, D. A., Pusey, A. E., & O’Brian, S. J. (1991). A molecular genetic analysis of kinship and cooperation in African lions. Nature, 351, 562–565.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Herbst, L., Pusey, A., Bygott, J. D., Hanby, J. P., Cairns, S. J., & Mulder, M. B. (1988). Reproductive success of lions. In T. H. Clutton-Brock (Ed.), Reproductive success. University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Hilborn, R., Mosser, A., Kissui, B., Borner, M., Hopcraft, G., Wilmshurst, J., Mduma, S., & Sinclar, A. R. E. (2005). Ecological change, group territoriality, and population dynamics in Serengeti lions. Science, 307, 390–393.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Kosmala, M., Cooley, H. S., Brink, H., Pintea, L., Garshelis, D., Purchase, G., Strauss, M., Swanson, A., Balme, G., Hunter, L., & Nowell, K. (2009). Sport hunting, predator control and conservation of large carnivores. PLoS One, 4, e5941.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Loveridge, A., Canney, S., Caro, T., Garnett, S. T., Pfeifer, M., Zander, K. K., Swanson, A., Macnulty, D., Balme, G., Bauer, H., Begg, C. M., Begg, K. S., Bhalla, S., Bissett, C., Bodasing, T., Brink, H., Burger, A., Burton, A. C., … Polasky, S. (2013) Conserving large carnivores: dollars and fence. Ecology Letters, 16, 635–641.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1982). Cooperation and competition within coalitions of male lions: kin selection or game theory? Nature, 296, 740–742.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1983a). Adaptations of female lions to infanticide by incoming males. The American Naturalist, 121, 716–728.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1983b). Male takeovers and female reproductive parameters: a simulation of oestrous synchrony in lions (Panthera leo). Animal Behaviour, 31, 334–340.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1987). Intrasexual cooperation and the sex ration in African lions. The American Naturalist, 130, 636–642.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Pusey, A. (1994). Non-offspring nursing in social carnivores: minimizing the costs. Behavioral Ecology, 5, 363–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Pusey, A., & Eberly, L. E. (2001). Egalitarianism in female African lions. Science, 293, 690–693.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Pusey, A., Rowe, C., Gilbert, D. A., Martenson, J., & O’Brian, J. (1991). Case study of a population bottleneck: lions of the Ngorongoro Crater. Conservation Biology, 5, 219–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., & Ruttan, L. (1988). The evolution of cooperative hunting. The American Naturalist, 132, 159–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packer, C., Scheel, D., & Pusey, A. E. (1990). Why lions form groups: food is not enough. The American Naturalist, 136, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, M. S., Miller, S., & Packer, C. (In review) Understanding predator pits: mechanisms underlying the decline of prey animals following lion reintroductions across South Africa. Biological Conservation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, B. D. (2007). On the nature and significance of variability in lions (Panthera leo). Evolutionary Biology, 34, 55–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, B. D., Kays, R. W., Kasiki, S. M., & Sebestyen, V. M. (2006). Developmental effects of climate on the lion’s mane (Panthera leo). Journal of Mammalogy, 87(2), 193–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Power, J. R., & Compion, S. R. X. (2015). Lion predation on elephants in the Savuti, Chobe National Park, Botswana. African Zoology, 44, 36–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pusey, A., & Packer, C. (1987). The evolution of sex-biased dispersal in lions. Behaviour, 101, 275–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riggio, J., Jacobson, A., Dollar, L., Bauer, H., Becker, M., Dickman, A., Funston, P., Groom, R., Henschel, P., de Iongh, H., Lichtenfeld, L., & Pimm, S. (2012). The size of savannah Africa: a lion’s (Panthera leo) view. Biodiversity and Conservation, 22, 17–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubenstein, D. I. (2009). Social behavior and sociobiology. In J. Travis (Ed.), Evolution: The first four billion years (pp. 237–255). Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaller, G. B. (1972). The Serengeti lion: a study of predator-prey relations. University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaller, G. B., & Lowther, G. R. (1969). The relevance of carnivore behavior to the study of early hominids. Journal of Anthropology, 25, 307–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheel, D. (1993). Profitability, encounter rates, and prey choice of African lions. Behavioral Ecology, 4(1), 90–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheel, D., & Packer, C. (1991). Group hunting behavior of lions: a search for cooperation. Animal Behaviour, 41, 697–709.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slotow, R., & Hunter, L. T. (2009). Reintroduction decisions taken at the incorrect social scale devalue their conservation contribution: the African lion in South Africa. Reintroduction of Top-Order Predators, (5), 43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smuts, G. L. (1978). Interrelations between predators, prey, and their environment. BioScience, 28, 316–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smuts, G. L., Robinson, G. A., & Whyte, I. J. (1980). Comparative growth of wild male and female lions (Panthera leo). Journal of Zoology, 190(3), 365–373.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snyman, A., Jackson, C. R., & Funston, P. J. (2014). The effect of alternative forms of hunting on the social organization of two small populations of lions Panthera leo in southern Africa. Oryx, 49, 604–610.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sogbohossou, E. A. (2011). Lions of West Africa: ecology of lion (Panthera leo Linnaeus 1975) populations and human-lion conflicts in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, North Benin. PhD Thesis. Leiden University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sogbohossou, E. A., Bauer, H., Loveridge, A., Funston, P. J., De Snoo, G. R., Sinsin, B., & De Iongh, H. H. (2014). Social structure of lions (Panthera leo) is affected by management in Pendjari Biosphere Reserve, Benin. PLoS One, 9(1), e84674.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Spong, G. (2002). Space use in lions, Panthera leo, in the Selous Game Reserve: social and ecological factors. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 52, 303–307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spong, G., & Creel, S. (2004). Effects of kinship on territorial conflicts among groups of lions, Panthera leo. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 55, 325–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spong, G. F., Stone, J., Creel, S., & Bjorklund, M. (2002). Genetic structure of lions (Panthera leo L.) in the Selous Reserve: implications for the evolution of sociality. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 15, 945–953.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stander, P. E. (1991). Demography of lions in the Etosha National Park, Namibia. Madoqua, 18, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stander, P. E. (1992a). Cooperative hunting in lions: the role of the individual. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 29, 445–454.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stander, P. E. (1992b). Foraging dynamics of lions in semi-arid environment. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 70, 8–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suraci, J. P., Frank, L. G., Oriol-Cotterill, A., Ekwanga, S., Williams, T. M., & Wilmers, C. C. (2019). Behavior-specific habitat selection by African lions may promote their persistence in a human-dominated landscape. Ecology, 100, e02644.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trethowan, P., Fuller, A., Haw, A., Hart, T., Markham, A., Loveridge, A., Hetem, R., du Preez, B., & Macdonald, D. W. (2017). Getting to the core: Internal body temperatures help reveal the ecological function and thermal implications of the lions’ mane. Ecology and Evolution, 7(1), 253–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trinkel, M., Funston, P., Hofmeyr, M., Hofmeyr, D., Dell, S., Packer, C., & Slotow, R. (2010). Inbreeding and density-dependent population growth in a small, isolated lion population. Animal Conservation, 13, 374–382.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, A., & Anton, M. (1997). The big cats and their fossil relatives. Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valeix, M., Loveridge, A. J., Chamaillé-Jammes, S., Davidson, Z., Murindagomo, F., Fritz, H., & Macdonald, D. W. (2009). Behavioral adjustments of African herbivores to predation risk by lions: spatiotemporal variations influence habitat use. Ecology, 90(1), 23–30.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valeix, M., Loveridge, A. J., & Macdonald, D. W. (2012). Influence of prey dispersion on territory and group size of African lions: a test of the resource dispersion hypothesis. Ecology, 93, 2490–2496.

    Google Scholar 

  • VanderWaal, K. L., Mosser, A., & Packer, C. (2009). Optimal group size, dispersal decisions and postdispersal relationships in female African lions. Animal Behaviour, 77, 949–954.

    Google Scholar 

  • van de Waal, E., Renevey, N., Favre, C. M., & Bshary, R. (2010). Selective attention to philopatric models causes directed social learning in wild vervet monkeys. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 277, 2105–2111.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Van Orsdol, K. G., Hanby, J. P., & Bygott, J. D. (1985). Ecological correlates of lion social organization (Panthera leo). Journal of Zoology, 206, 97–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Valkenburgh, B., & White, P. A. (2021). Naturally-occurring tooth wear, tooth fracture, and cranial injuries in large carnivores from Zambia. PeerJ, 9, e11313.

    PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Werdelin, L., Yamaguchi, N., Johnson, W. E., & O’Brian, S. J. (2010). Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae). In D. W. Macdonald & A. J. Loveridge (Eds.), Biology and conservation of wild felids (pp. 59–82). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, P. M., & Packer, C. (2002). Sexual selection, temperature, and the lion’s mane. Science, 297, 1339–1343.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whitman, K., Starfield, A. M., Quadling, H. S., & Packer, C. (2004). Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions. Nature, 428, 175–178.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Whitman, K. L., Starfield, A. M., Quadling, H., & Packer, C. (2007). Modeling the effects of trophy selection and environmental disturbance on a simulated population of African lions. Conservation Biology, 21, 591–601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodroffe, R., & Frank, L. G. (2005). Lethal control of African lions (Panthera leo): local and regional population impacts. Animal Conservation, 8, 91–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi, N., Cooper, A., Werdelin, L., & Macdonald, D. W. (2004). Evolution of the mane and group-living in the lion (Panthera leo): a review. Journal of Zoology, 263, 329–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki, K. (1996). Social variation of lions in a male-depopulated area in Zambia. Journal of Wildlife Management, 60, 490–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeakel, J. D., Patterson, B. D., Fox-Dobbs, K., Okumura, M. M., Cerling, T. E., Moore, J. W., Koch, P. L., & Dominy, N. J. (2009). Cooperation and individuality among man-eating lions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106, 19040–19043.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social facilitation. Science, 149(3681), 269–274.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Meredith S. Palmer

  2. Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany

    Natalia Borrego

  3. Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

    Natalia Borrego

  4. Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Craig Packer

Authors
  1. Meredith S. Palmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Natalia Borrego
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Craig Packer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Meredith S. Palmer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, FL, USA

    Mridula Srinivasan

  2. Department of Marine Biology, Texas A&M University at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA

    Bernd Würsig

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Palmer, M.S., Borrego, N., Packer, C. (2023). Social Strategies of the African Lion. In: Srinivasan, M., Würsig, B. (eds) Social Strategies of Carnivorous Mammalian Predators. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29803-5_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation