There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
This idea came into my head reading Christiansen 2009 claim that P. atrox was likely solitary due his theory of the species closer to relationship to P. onca.
The general consensus disagrees with that, and thus the cave lion are part of the lion lineage. With that, perhaps at least the more recent forms were social. What if their social behavior caused their extinction after prey items downsized and changed? There would be less energy available, and harder to support a group of animals. When the groups were forced to separate into individuals, they were eventually outcompeted by the modern flora in the niche. What do you think?
I feel the Asiatic lion would be a hindrance to this theory, as the seemed to have desocialized somewhat. Although, there are also not as much pressures by other carnivores who would theoretically share or overlap their niche with these Asiatic lions, namely the brown bear, wolf, and tiger in Eurasia and North America.