Lion

Discussions and information on all Southern African Mammals
User avatar
Richprins
Committee Member
Posts: 75838
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 3:52 pm
Location: NELSPRUIT
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Richprins »

Image


Kruger Sightings
‏Verified account @LatestKruger
16h16 hours ago

16:00
2 Lion stationary
“Rangers darted and putting on collars for 2 lions”
S28, 2.4km from H4-2 S entrance
Near Crocodile Bridge
Vis
Tinged by stevebate10


Please check Needs Attention pre-booking: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=596
User avatar
Lisbeth
Site Admin
Posts: 67241
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:31 pm
Country: Switzerland
Location: Lugano
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Lisbeth »

RP, you should give private English lessons to the "tingers" ;-)


"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
User avatar
Flutterby
Posts: 44150
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:28 pm
Country: South Africa
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Flutterby »

lol


User avatar
Lisbeth
Site Admin
Posts: 67241
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:31 pm
Country: Switzerland
Location: Lugano
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Lisbeth »

Understanding lion infanticide

Posted on 4 January, 2019 by Africa Geographic Editorial in Research, Wildlife and the Decoding Science post series.

Image
© George B. Schaller

Often in the news, or even while out on safari, you may come across the term ‘infanticide’, or even witness it first-hand. This is where an adult, usually a male – though it can be practiced by females too– kills a young offspring of the same species.

Infanticide is an often overlooked way of ensuring the survival of the fittest. It has been recorded in a number of species throughout the animal kingdom, especially in primates, and includes mammals such as dolphins and meerkats, as well as fish, insects, reptiles and amphibians – even unpredictable animals such as hippos can commit infanticide.

Scientific research shows it can provide benefits to the perpetrator, such as increased reproductive opportunities, access to limited resources, direct nutritional benefits, or the prevention of misdirected parental care.

Infanticide in lions is common, and here we will briefly look into the theories as to why lions, both males and females, commit such an act.

Image

Infanticide by males

When a new coalition of males takes over a pride, they almost always kill the prides’ cubs, since they are not biologically related and do not want to spend energy ensuring that other lions’ genes will be passed on. In addition, female lions will not be receptive to mating while they are nursing, so killing the cubs enables the male lions to procreate.

The immigrating lions seem to target any cubs that are roughly nine months old or younger – as the mother will still be nursing them – though as in other species, the female will attempt to prevent infanticide by hiding or directly defending their cubs; lionesses are generally more successful at protecting older cubs, as they would be leaving the pride sooner.

Males have, on average, only a two-year window in which to pass on their genes, and lionesses only give birth once every two years, so the selective pressure on them to conform to this behaviour is strong. In fact, it is estimated that a quarter of cubs dying in the first year of life are victims of infanticide (Packer & Pusey, 1984).

Infanticide by females

Infanticide by the mother of lion cubs, referred to as filial infanticide (when a parent kills its offspring), has been observed where the mother will deliberately abandon her litter when only one cub remains. It has been determined that females will increase their lifetime reproductive success by abandoning single cubs and investing exclusively in larger litters (Packer & Pusey, 1984). It is also noted that abandonment can also occur if the cub is handicapped, weak or suffering from illness.

Image

Because infanticide by males is highly detrimental to female reproductive success, a number of counter-strategies by female lions to try and prevent infanticide, or reduce the impact of it on the pride, has been noted by researchers Packer & Pusey (1982):

“Those females that remain in the pride and mate with the new males show low fertility in the first few months after a takeover of their pride. At the same time, however, females show heightened sexual activity, being more active in initiating copulations and seeking a greater number of mating partners. These two factors appear to elicit competition between male coalitions for control of the pride, with the result that larger coalitions eventually become resident. This is adaptive because a female needs protection from male harassment of her cubs for two years or more in order to rear her cubs successfully, and only large male coalitions are likely to remain in a pride for more than two years.”


"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
Twigga
Posts: 1001
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:43 am
Country: Sunny SA
Location: So close, but yet so far...
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Twigga »

https://preview.msn.com/en-ca/video/wat ... vi-BBS30Yt

Wild Indian lioness adopts leopard cub in heartwarming show of kindness
Duration: 02:21 1 day ago
In a story reminiscent of "The Jungle Book", a wild Indian lioness was seen having adopted a lost leopard cub alongside her two lion cubs in western India. Forest officials observed the rare display of cross-species motherhood in the Gir forest in Banaskantha district, Gujarat state on January 4. The leopard cub, dubbed "Mowgli", was being reared and protected by a lioness now named "Raksha". The names are taken from the famed Rudyard Kipling story "The Jungle Book", where a human child named Mowgli is adopted by a female wolf named Raksha. Leopards and lions in India are normally understood to be hostile and it is still unclear how Raksha came to be caring for the lost cub Mowgli. The mother lioness can be seen taking extra care of her adoptive cub, since the leopard is smaller and not able to match her pace and her cubs. She is also believed to be protecting Mowgli from male lions roaming the area that would otherwise attack the young cub.

phpBB [video]


Somewhere in Kruger
User avatar
Lisbeth
Site Admin
Posts: 67241
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:31 pm
Country: Switzerland
Location: Lugano
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Lisbeth »

Nature never stops to surprise :shock:


"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
User avatar
Richprins
Committee Member
Posts: 75838
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 3:52 pm
Location: NELSPRUIT
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Richprins »

:shock:


Please check Needs Attention pre-booking: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=596
User avatar
Flutterby
Posts: 44150
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:28 pm
Country: South Africa
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Flutterby »

I'm sure there was a similar case in SA sometime ago. :shock:


User avatar
Peter Betts
Posts: 3084
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:28 am
Country: RSA
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Peter Betts »

Richprins wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:13 am
Kruger Sightings
‏Verified account @LatestKruger
16h16 hours ago

16:00
2 Lion stationary
“Rangers darted and putting on collars for 2 lions”
S28, 2.4km from H4-2 S entrance
Near Crocodile Bridge
Vis
Tinged by stevebate10
They are Vets and NGO staff ..Not Kruger Rangers


User avatar
Richprins
Committee Member
Posts: 75838
Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 3:52 pm
Location: NELSPRUIT
Contact:

Re: Lion

Post by Richprins »

Image


Kruger Sightings
‏Verified account @LatestKruger
14h14 hours ago

Update:
16:30
Lioness feeding on hare
H4-1, 4km from Lower Sabie
5/5
Tinged By Val



Please check Needs Attention pre-booking: https://africawild-forum.com/viewtopic.php?f=322&t=596
Post Reply

Return to “Mammals”