Other male lion coalitions from Masai Mara

[Ngala]

Photo and information credits: Mahendra Jain
Flehmen response of the King - with the plains of Mara in the backdrop - Masai Mara, Kenya - 2017
First, the story behind the picture and then some theory on the so called 'Flehmen response' - both in this post below.

Story:
We called this Lion as 'Devdas'. During a game drive in Masai Mara one morning, we noticed a pair of mating lion and lioness. Not far from this pair was another large male (the same male as seen in this picture). Apparently, he was the brother of the lion that was currently mating with the lioness. History suggests that a lioness may mate with more than one male when she is in heat. Hence, the feeling was that the lioness had chosen one of the brothers and continued its mating sessions. However, the other brother (in this picture) was maintaining a decent distance from the mating pair. As the mating pair slowly kept moving away, this brother also continued to walk in the same direction, albeit maintaining the same distance from the mating pair. He continued to be within sight of the lioness with the hope that the lioness may choose to give up her current mate and instead decide to mate with him at some point and he might then get a chance. During this waiting process, he is seen displaying the Flehmen response in this picture. Read below to understand more about the Flehmen response.
The Flehmen response takes place when one lion, of either sex, sniffs and smells the urine of another. Chemicals and hormones contained in the urine elicit the Flehmen response. Usually, after smelling the urine patch on the ground or vegetation, the cat that is doing the smelling will lift his or her head, and hold their lips back in a strong grimace for a period of several seconds. If you have never seen it happen before, it can appear to be a threat display, but in fact it has nothing to do with threat. By sniffing deeply, and then pulling back their lips, they are in fact ‘testing’ the chemical content of the urine left behind by the earlier animal. Also, because lions are social for much of the time, it is easier to observe the Flehmen response taking place amongst members of the same pride. Although Flehmen is observed amongst males and females, it appears to be most important to males and it plays a part in allowing them to determine whether a female may be entering an oestrous cycle.

*This image is copyright of its original author

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