Coalitions of Kruger National Park

[Spalea]

(11-03-2019, 01:58 AM)lionjaguar Wrote:

(11-03-2019, 01:41 AM)Spalea Wrote: The more powerful the felid is, the lower is its hunting success rate. The lions being powerful can easily started again an other hunt after having failed. And once the prey is killed, no one predator will come against them to disput it (especially in pride of course).

Otherwise it's clear that the jaguar is the only one feline to frequently hunt and eat some crocs (caimans mostly). Although the lions are able to adapt their behaviour according to their environment and available preys.

That's not always true if you see the fastest living felid. The lion is also the second largest, second strongest, second best fighter, and second most powerful cat. Hunting success is also vary by individuals.
I think lions seem really different from other cats. Males have manes. They have nothing in their body besides brown color skin unlike other cats. Their techniques aren't really design for hunting. I heard they are design for fight, but I don't believe it as well. They probably evolved different in somewhat from adapting in open plains along with large herbivores. They are also social, although I heard Barbary lion and Cape lion didn't lived as group. I am not sure if this was true since they were long gone before someone study about them. I also heard Asiatic lion is not really social animal.

The fastest living felid is the cheetah and the cheetah has a bigger level success hunting rate than lion (or tiger) and by far... But once the prey is killed it must eat it quickly, because unable to keep it against a lion, leopard, spotted hyena and so on. And running after and killing a prey represents clearly a very big cardiac effort for the cheetah

Yes lions are different from other cats. But careful, we cannot be sure about Cape lions and Barbary lions because they were constantly hunted when Africa was settled. These lion subspecies didn't never know a peaceful environment (Park or reserve) before they disappeared. And the intensiv hunt which they suffered could very well completely modify their behaviour. What did the Barbary lions hunt ? Wild goats ? No need to live in big prides for this kind of prey, but perhaps their other wild preys were exterminated too... Same objection as concerns the Cape lions. If the Cape and Barbary lions could have lived in a preserved biotop, perhaps they would have lived in big prides like the extant lions of East or South Africa. We simply don't know.

IMO, the male lions are also perfectly adapted for hunting like the lionesses (neither more, nor less) if they have to hunt. Wildfact forum gave many account of males hunting alone or together some big preys. They are very opportunist.

Asiatic lions ? They are too numerous for the Gir Park, thus their behaviour isn't natural too. Reply