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Behavior Guide: cub defense  One of the primary reasons female lions live in groups is to
protect their young against infanticidal males. Males are 1.5 times larger
than females so a female alone is powerless, but females in groups can
succeed in keeping males away from cubs. However, this is generally only a
short-term solution to the problem of strange males. In order to raise
their young females rely on protection from their resident males. Males
keep invaders out of their territories by patrolling, marking and roaring,
and they will also fight if they encounter a strange male within their
territory.
Quicktime video of female lions attacking an infanticidal male. Length: 1:00
Note: Videos require the Quicktime player. It is available for both Windows and Macintosh at the following address:
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High quality/bandwidth: 2.1Mb