Lion

Panthera leo · Mammals

Lionesses on a zebra kill

Masai Mara, 21 February 2020

A young pride on a zebra kill in the Mara, most of one flank already gone. The Mara's lions live largely on zebra and wildebeest, and a kill this size will feed a pride for a day and everything else on the plain after that.

Lions rely on sight and hearing over smell while hunting, but once an animal is down, scent becomes the useful sense. It is what draws in every lion within range of a kill, whether or not they helped bring it down. A carcass this size rarely stays a private meal for long: hyenas will contest a fresh kill if they turn up in numbers, and whatever a pride hasn't finished by morning very often isn't there to finish.

Lion

Masai Mara, 21 February 2020

A mature male lion in wet grass at first light in the Mara. He would be six or seven, about the age at which a male holds territory, and most do not hold one for more than two or three years. Lions live on the open savanna across East and Southern Africa, and the Mara's prides are among the best-studied on the continent.

The mane is a signal and a liability at the same time. Darker, fuller manes track higher testosterone and better condition, and females prefer them - but they also cost the animal heat, which is why lions in hotter, drier country carry so much less.

Lioness

Masai Mara, 19 February 2020

A lioness on a termite mound in the Mara, which is what passes for high ground here and gets used by anything that wants a view. Lions live in prides on the open savanna across East and Southern Africa, and the Mara holds one of the densest populations left anywhere.

Lionesses do most of the hunting and effectively all of the cooperative hunting, working in a rough line and driving prey towards whoever is waiting in front. The males' job is holding territory, which sounds like the softer option until you consider that failing at it usually means being killed.