Lions from Botswana

[KM600]

(09-02-2023, 12:13 AM)Mapokser Wrote: @KM600 How do you know they are any healthier than other lions?

@BA0701 Ngorongoro Crater has bigger lions on average. But the thing is, that place is a small semi-isolated area with inbred cats.

How many adult male lions live there? 5? 7? I remember that recently it had less than 60 lions living there and this is while adding cubs and females. Same population of the Western Sector of SS in the pre Mapogo Era, and at that time there were only 3 dominant males among the overall 57 lions.

The Lake Quintet aside, how many other males/coalitions live there? None? Or maybe 1 or 2? It's not like it's an area where one could say it has a sub-population of huge male lions. In any other area you could isolate a few big lions like that. The Crater is just a territory with one or two coalitions rather than an actual population of bigger lions.

Still, I'm pretty sure prey density and the "easier life" for natives to the Crater in comparison to lions anywhere else on Serengeti also contributes to their big size.

Albeit it’s hard to follow lions from Botswana, I’ve heard before that they age better than their counterparts and from the few Botswana lions I know I agree with it. One example is Sekekama and TornNose, it’s said they control a new pride and eventho nobody truly knows when they were born it was late 2000s most likely 2007, they should not still be a factor in the lion dynamics at this age especially considering they’re the same age. Compare them to any prime male lion from MM, SS or KNP and you wouldn’t think there’s much age difference, only recently they’ve started having trouble with their eyes but before that nobody would have guessed they were 15+. I’d say that Savage Kingdom highlighted the tough lifestyle they live, having to move the whole pride into enemy territory just for water and the chance to hunt elephants cos thats one of the only things there is to hunt at the time, so ppl can’t say they live significantly easier than these other areas of lions and yet they still seem to age gracefully. Reply