I believe that many people are deeply impressed by the cartoon "The Lion King", and Simba has also become the idol of many children. Throughout the cartoon, the impressive characters are almost all male lions, such as Simba, Mufasa, Scar, etc., giving the impression that the male lion is the real leader of the lions, responsible for large and small affairs, and has absolute power.
However, if you want to understand the habits of lions clearly through this cartoon, it is still impossible, because there are many plots in the film that do not match reality.
For example, the replacement of the Lion King is not passed from father to son, but is fought for by strength. Scar also has problems with the image of Mufasa, and theoretically the black and dense mane should grow on Mufasa's body.
In addition, on the surface, the leaders of the lion group are Mufasa and Simba, but in fact, Simba's mother Sarabi is the real leader of the lion group.
Having a black and thick mane can definitely be liked by all lionesses, because it is a symbol of stronger physical fitness and better genes, and the offspring born from mating with it means better quality.
Lions live mainly in the African savanna, where the weather is hot and the black and thick mane means that it is more heat-absorbing and more likely to breed parasites.
However, under the adverse factors, the male lion can still maintain good health, which naturally means better, stronger anti-parasitic ability, and more liked by the female lion.
A truly social cat
Lion is a very special existence in cats, because most of the 40 modern cats live alone, and only lions are species that live in groups in the true sense.
This is true for both African and Asiatic lions. In addition, the sexual dimorphism of lions is obvious, in addition to being larger than female lions, male lions will also grow thick and long manes after adulthood, which is easy to distinguish between male and female.
The size of the lion herd is affected by the environment, for example, the African savanna is very open as far as the eye can see, which can naturally form a larger lion group, while on the Indian subcontinent, it is not as open and flat as the African savannah, so the Asian lion is smaller.
A standard lion group basically consists of three parts: more female lions, several cubs, and one or two or several adult male lions.
In the past, the impact of human beings on nature was relatively small, so large lion groups were common, but after entering modern times, due to environmental destruction, the lion habitat was seriously fragmented, so there were no super large lion groups, more by several female lions with some cubs and one or two male lions to form small and medium-sized lion groups.
The main component of the lion group is the female lion, the female lion is the most gregarious cat, almost all of her life with other female lionesses, only when the litter is born, will live alone for a period of time, and after the cubs can go out, they will return to the group.
Iron lions, flowing lions
As the so-called "iron lions, flowing water lions", for a lion group, male lions are very unstable existence, which was already like this when they were small.
Even if they avoid infanticide, newborn male lions will not stay in the native lion group for long, and after reaching sexual maturity, they will soon enter the wandering stage, and some will even earlier.
For example, when the half big is not small, it coincides with the replacement of the new and old lion kings of the lion group, and these little male lions will be forced to enter the wandering stage in advance in order not to be killed by the new adult male lions. For male lions, wandering is almost a necessary stage, which is the mechanism by which the species avoids inbreeding.
Most male lions will become stronger during their wandering careers and then start competing for the main lion group. Before entering the lion group, the male lion has no territory, and only after entering the lion group, he enjoys the territory of the lion group.
The competition between male lions is fierce, and the male lion has a short prime, which makes it difficult for male lions to stay in a certain group for a long time.
In general, male lions rarely stay longer than three years after entering the colony, after which they will be chased away or killed by stronger male lions. In a lion group, the change of lion king is very frequent, and most female lions have experienced many male lions in their lives.
The lioness is the leader of the lions
Compared to unstable male lions, female lions appear very stable. The female lioness of a lion group, since birth, almost always stay in the native lion group, they are the soul and heart of the lion group, leading the development of the lion group.
The lioness is very united, and no matter how the male lion changes, it will not affect the feelings between the female lionses. 99% of the lionesses in a lion group are related, either sisters, mother and daughter or other close blood relations.
On the surface, it seems that the male lion is leading the herd, but in fact, the responsibility for defining the territory, capturing food, and raising the offspring falls to the female lion.
In "The Lion King", Simba's mother Sarabi is a very small supporting role, and many people may not even know its name. In fact, Sarabi is the invisible boss and the real leader of the lions.
The lion herd belongs to a matriarchal society, male lions change frequently, come and go, cannot lead the lion herd for a long time, and female lions are the factor of stability.
The lioness dominate the lion colony, especially in the definition of the territory and the development of the population, when the lion group grows to too large, the female lion will carve out a new territory near the territory, let their daughters take over, and establish a new lion group.
In general, it seems that the male lion is infinitely beautiful, like the leader of the lion group, but in fact, it is the female lion who really plays a controlling role, they are the leader of the lion group, the real king of the lion group, and sometimes even directly intervene in the replacement of new and old male lions.
For example, when the lion group has cubs, the female lion will not want the male lion to change, and may help fight. When there are no cubs in the lion group, if a male lion is strong and has a thick black mane, it will also be favored by female lions.
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