Desert Lions

[tigerluver]

An ecological concept to note. Prides, or any type of gathering of individuals of a population, don't form if not enough food is available, a threshold, one might say (Sunquist and Sunquist 2002, personal info). It does not matter what social need is there (e.g. defense from another carnivore), prey density or availability is the only factor that allows the pride interacton. 

This is essentially why the American lion seems to be a solitary animal (Jefferson 1992,2001). It shared its range with two other superpredators (short faced bear and Smilodon). The Eurasian cave lion looks to be solitary as well (see extinct felid thread), and again it shared its range with at least one other superpredator. The African lions pride lifestyle is directly a function of food availability, which is mostly a function of prey density and competition.  Reply