Do Lions Average 30 Seconds Per Mate? Don't Laugh at Powerful Lions, They Don't Need Endurance

Every living organism’s most fundamental pursuit is procreation, with some willing to sacrifice their lives for their offspring, most notably some insect species like praying mantises and spiders. Research shows this behavior ultimately benefits their progeny’s survival rates. Earth’s organisms, through sexual reproduction, have evolved to facilitate high-frequency genetic exchange, unlike asexual reproduction which relies solely on extremely rare gene mutations for evolution.

Throughout continuous evolution, various organisms engage in sexual selection, such as the Matschie’s reed frog (also known as the ‘madagascar lace web spider’) of cat species, which have exceptionally long and persistent mating times, lasting up to 8 hours each time. The Australian small animal broad-footed potoroo can die of happiness, with the longest mating time lasting up to 14 hours. Every year after the mating period, half of the male broad-footed potoroos die of happiness.

Ironically, the apex predators of the African savanna, the African lions, look imposing and powerful, and any animal on the savanna can become their prey, but they are outmatched in terms of endurance. Of course, if a lion heard me say that, it would surely scorn it. But undeniably, since time is lacking, to ensure the birth rate, one simply compensates through the number of times.

In a lion pride, there are typically 1-2 male lions and 5-7 female lions. The female lions’ task is to raise offspring and hunt, while the male lions’ task is to patrol the territory and protect their pride. The lion’s reproductive process is undoubtedly a physically demanding one. Once a female lion goes into estrus, she will immediately seek out a male lion, and they will spend happy four days together, although each time only for half an hour, but they mate 20-40 times a day. Seeing this, you must have felt the power of the lions!

African male lions gain mating rights not through size or endurance, but through strong physiques and superior combat skills. An African male lion will experience two wanderings when it grows to around two years old, when they grow up, they will be driven out of the pride by their ‘father’. At this time, they can only wander and hunt alone to support themselves, but it is obviously very difficult to succeed in hunting alone, so they will go to find temporary teams with other male lions.

Until one day they feel that they are strong enough, at which point they will choose other lion kings to challenge, if they win, they will inherit the ‘throne’, if they lose, they will run away. Waiting for another opportunity. As long as you successfully become a lion king, it means you have gained the right to mate, so in a sense, lions admire strength.

Among primate species, there is a classic example. They belong to the strongest individuals in the primate order, especially the silverback gorillas, who have silver hair on their backs after adulthood, so they are the closest relatives to humans besides chimpanzees and gorillas. They are mainly distributed in some countries in Africa, and when standing upright as adults, their height can reach up to 2 meters and their weight can reach about 130 kilograms.

Although gorillas are the largest primates, their buttocks are only 4cm, which is also related to their survival habits. Gorillas are also social animals, and their population size ranges from 2 to 37 individuals, with adult silverbacks serving as leaders, so they have absolute mating rights, which means that strength doesn't matter much.

Gorillas and lions are a pair of difficult brothers and sisters, a glorious life doesn't need explanation.

Written by Du Luo, image source deleted online.

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