Lion Grass on the Ground Courted a Lioness, Captured Throughout, This Expression Was Truly High-Energy
Considering the comparison with tigers, the lion's survival status within a pride is more like a matriarchal society, as lionesses are largely stable, while males are frequently changing, as lionesses bear the burden of reproduction.
Because of this, photographers often capture amusing scenes within prides, as lions, though fierce, are still cats, and their only form of communication seems to be playful bickering and biting, not genuinely harmful.
At 55, photographer Vclav ilha captured a male lion courting a lioness in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve, the expression on his face was particularly comical, with his large mouth as if announcing his successful courtship.
Lionesses generally remain stable within a pride, usually staying with the same pride from birth until death, and new lionesses can be accepted into the pride. However, males frequently rotate, staying in a pride for an average of two years (with records of up to six), often being ousted by younger, more attractive males, or leaving to seek new romances and families.
These wanderers sometimes form male support groups, roaming and tracking migrating herds of prey together, bonding as brothers in hardship before conquering another pride.
The method of conquering other prides is to defeat the pride's male lion, and after defeating the male lion, he might kill the lion cubs to establish his dominance and breed cubs with the pride's lionesses.
Male lions will court lionesses, spending long times with them, touching their faces, and giving them an amorous look. Once the lioness is ready to mate, she raises her tail, signaling the male. This male lion's comical expression in Kenya seemed to be announcing his successful courtship.
Although courtship times are long, mating times are short, typically lasting only 30 seconds, but with many mating occurrences, often lasting 4-5 days with 40-50 mating times per day, sometimes reaching 60, making it a world record. Because lionesses can enter mating status at any time, male lions must make 3000+ mating attempts for a lioness to become pregnant.
This is because lion reproduction is very weak, with a low fertility rate. In the food chain, energy follows a pyramid shape. The higher the level in the food chain, the less energy is available, and the efficiency of energy transfer in the food chain is about 10-20%, so the more the level of the food chain, the less energy is available, thus saving energy is the most economical approach.
Of course, there are also examples of failed courtship. A male lion in Kenya's Masai Mara Wildlife Reserve failed to court a lioness, and she slapped him, a rare and comical scene captured by British photographer Austin Thomas.
The male lion spent the entire morning courting the female lioness, becoming impatient when the female lioness didn't respond, and she gave him a slap as a final protest.
In prides, lionesses hold a higher status than male lions. When a weaker or less favored male lion arrives, the lionesses will often attack him and drive him away. If the arriving male lion is strong, but the pride's leader is old, the lionesses will watch the battle unfold and let the lions fight.
Lionesses will also serve as the pride's leaders, sleeping with other lionesses and cubs during the day, while the male lions patrol the territory at night and provide food for the pride.
This is why lionesses take the initiative during courtship.
