Lion pictures and videos

[Tshokwane]

(12-08-2016, 06:25 AM)Polar Wrote: Doesn't this only make courting the female harder than it is? What if the weaker (less dominant) male chooses to all of a sudden chase the female, and the stronger (more dominant) male chooses to deny mating rights to the female? Does the female still seek the more dominant male like most other animals (except many humans)?

Or will the lioness, in this hypothetical situation, simply choose to mate with the weaker male since he is the only male that is approaching her (even though she has the dominant one in mind)?

The choice is less of the lioness than it is of the lion. Between brothers, usually, the rule to be observed is that the first that takes her gets her. The other, in general, waits his turn.

At the end of the day this ends up being a bit useless in the sense that she will mate with both males, like they will mate with several of the lionesses.

Quote:It doesn't really seem like mane size is the biggest factor for males; looks as if size and strength are both bigger advantages for actual better physical genes; however, larger male lions will tend to have a larger mane (many exceptions exist), so it makes sense that the females see mane size as a correlation (maybe causation to them?) to better physical genetics, and thus increased dominance. 

It isn't just mane size alone. It's a sum of several factors.

1- Colour of the mane. The darker the mane, the more it attracts the ladies.
2- Lenght of the mane. It's important, certainly but a bit less than colour. So, a male with a big, dark mane( think Makhulu of the Mapogos) will have an advantage over one with a short dark mane( think Mr.T of the Mapogos).

So the "hierarchy", or the picky choice of the girls when they have a choice on the matter goes like this:

1st and preferred- Long dark mane.
2- Short dark mane.
3- Long blonde mane.
4th and least preferred- Short blonde mane.

You can read more about the function and purpose of the mane here: The Mane Reply