Modern Weights and Measurements of Wild Lions

[Pckts]

(02-13-2022, 08:01 PM)SpinoRex Wrote:

(02-13-2022, 06:09 AM)Pckts Wrote: Male lions share food with no one, in fact they usurp food from the pride without hunting for it at times. Prides don’t eat until a male allows it. 

Not to mention the abundance of food available to them. You’re talking about millions of ungulates at their disposal. There is no place on earth that comes close to the prey biomass you see in Africa.

To be honest i will end the discussion here. My point is clear and your above quote shows everything isnt it? Smuts study basically explains it really well. But i wont talk about tigers but just about lions. Beside the explanation there is no doubt a solitary cat will eat significantly more than a pride male when they have a dead carcass. The problem is most solitary lions wont survive in africa.

A pride male first of all has a pride right(With some cubs, subadults and adult females)? So when a carcass is killed he eats first of course, which i never denied in any form. But what after that? Then the pride will eat and therefore there will be less meat available overall for the male lion(s). I think you could guess how much adult females, subadults will eat from the carcass.

But is that the only factor? No not really. Nonterretorial males killed more frequently adult bufallos, which also contributed to the available meat. I dont have to tell you that there is a significant difference when a whole pride have a bufallo and a lone lion or a small coalition have a bufallo. Also when you look at it some solitary lions are really massive(its rare) but those 2-3 lion coalitions are really heavy. At least heavier than most pride males but that isnt a problem. 

Prey of Nonterretorial males and Pride Males

*This image is copyright of its original author

Difference in available meat and food intake of nonterretrial males and pride males

*This image is copyright of its original author

Im asking one thing. You believe a (imaginable) solitary lion will not eat more than a lion with a pride? Also it means a solitary lion will not eat more than a pride male when he has a whole carcass for himself right? Note these are nonterretorial males and not solitary lions with a terretory.
 
Such nonterretorial males as i said wont be sucessfull (with some exceptions). Many scavengers and deadly enemies with the likes of hyenas and of course lion prides. They have not a own place. The reason why most of them dont make it alone (in Madikwe for example)

So you see some nomadic lions like Kalamas, Ximpoko/Mabande, Mabande/Old Birmingham Male. Also i find it hard to believe that its a coincidence that nearly all record sized males were not pride males but nomadic ones (with some having a alliance).

Quote:Rob (ecologist , Predator Management):

In my experience, the amount of food  that non-territorials get is subject

to a variety of factors such as territorial pressures and food availability
– so yes if a solitary male or female manages to kill a decent size prey
item – they will of course have the opportunity to engorge more than a males
in a pride of say 10 – on the same carcass.

In fact some Pilannesberg male solitary lions for example last year looked
very lean – as a result of food availabilities and territorial pressures.
The solitary +_4-5yr old male that killed a ranger last year was thin as
were other male lions sent for autopsies.

So I guess it depends on circumstances – nothing remains static in an ever
fluctuating environment. I have seen male lions go from looking very light
to great condition within a few weeks  - depending mainly on food
availability and social pressures.

Basically i was disgareeing because it was proven that NT lions ate more meat than T lions on a daily basis when they kill a carcass. They can gorge themselves more often.

First off, nothing you posted has anything to do with how much a territorial/nomadic male eats throughout their life.
The idea that a nomadic male might gorge itself more than a pride male would come down to the fact that they have less access to food as well as being more cautious of losing their kill to a pride male so eating fast is their best option. Territory males have all day to eat as well as unlimited access to more whether that’s by hunting themselves or usurping their prides kill.

I’ll respond more thoroughly to the rest when I have more time but for now I’ll make it very simple.
The Notches, Arguably the most successful pride/coalition in recent history also by no surprise has the largest Lions seen in the Mara. Caesar, Earless, etc. This is because of their pride/coalition, nomadic males face far more hardships hence why the quote from Rob which you didn’t highlight for some reason specifically talks about nomadic males in bad shape. 
Territory holding males have the most access to food, there is no debate. 
Best territories = most prey 
Males eat their fill and usurp others kills, they have the highest terrestrial  prey accessibility on the planet. Reply