The majestic image of a male lion with a vibrant mane, reigning over a vast territory surrounded by a pride of lionesses, is always awe-inspiring. However, behind this authoritative facade lies an interesting fact that few people know: upon becoming the king of the lions, these male lions typically cease participating in hunting activities.
How Does a Lion Become the King of the Lions?
As young male lions approach maturity (around 2 years old), they are often expelled from their pride and must wander the savannah alone. However, their solitary hunting skills are relatively weak, which leads them to seek out other male lions of similar age to form a “roaming lion coalition” consisting of two or more male lions (sometimes up to seven lions) working together.
These male lion coalitions are often composed of half-brothers or cousins, and they usually grow up together within the same initial pride. However, it is not uncommon for male lions that are not related to band together.
Male lions learn to hunt from their mothers during the first two years of life.
However, the reality is that between the ages of 2 and 5, male lions will roam, and 60% to 70% of them will die within these three years.
Male lions learn to hunt from their mothers during their first two years, then wander in the wild for three years. If they are fortunate enough to survive until they are 5 years old, they will challenge the reigning lion king to establish their own pride. If they fail, they are likely to die. If they succeed, they will become the new king of the lions.
By the age of 5, male lions are considered fully mature in every aspect, and their true destinies begin. At this point, most of them will leave their lion coalition and set out alone to seek and establish their own pride.
The only way to achieve this is to challenge the lion king (the dominant male lion) of another pride for mating rights and females. At this time, a battle will ensue between the male lion and the old lion king. If the male lion is defeated by the old lion king, even if it is not killed on the spot, it will likely struggle to survive as death will slowly and painfully come—either from starvation or infection from wounds.
If the male lion manages to defeat the old lion king, it will become the new king, while the old king will also face death in a similar manner. After becoming the lion king, the lion cubs under 6 months of age in the original pride will be killed, and those over 6 months will be expelled. This is because the new lion king wants to reset the pride, severing all blood ties to the old lion king while also encouraging the lionesses to return to their breeding cycle quickly.
Once male lions reach 8 years old, their fighting capabilities will significantly decline, meaning the prime years of a lion king last only about 3 years. The aging lion king will face continuous challenges from younger lions.
Once male lions reach 8 years old, their fighting capabilities will significantly decline.
Why Do Male Lions Stop Participating in Hunting After Becoming the Lion King and Rely on Lionesses for Food?
If we only consider hunting abilities, male lions are actually less capable than lionesses, as lionesses possess a more agile body, better endurance, and can run to catch prey with explosive speed. Additionally, lionesses are better at coordinating as a team while hunting, with each lioness having specific responsibilities.
If the lion king joins this hunting formation, it will almost immediately disrupt the initial hunting plans. Of course, if faced with difficult prey, the lion king will also assist the lionesses in their attack. Essentially, out of every 10 hunts, the lion king may join in 1 or 2 times.
After fierce battles, their bodies require time to recover and regain strength.
Fighting for dominance and protecting territory consumes a significant amount of energy for male lions. After intense battles, their bodies need time to recover and regenerate strength. Hunting requires vigorous movement and depletes stamina, thus, male lions often limit their participation in this activity to conserve energy for other important tasks such as protecting the pride and territory.
The true role of the lion king is to protect the entire pride of lions as it is the individual with the highest fighting capability in the pride. When hunting, the pride must not only be wary of counterattacks from herbivorous animals but also face threats from hyenas—where the fighting effectiveness of lionesses is relatively low, and they can be attacked and killed by hyenas. At this time, the lion king must rise to protect the entire pride. It will fight against the hyena pack and even kill them on the spot.
Additionally, the lion king will frequently patrol the territory, seeking and attacking new male lions that attempt to approach the pride. In summary, the lion king will engage in high-risk battles, refraining from direct involvement or competition unless the situation is life-threatening.
Hunting involves many dangers, with a high risk of injury.
When injured, male lions become vulnerable and susceptible to attacks from enemies, threatening their dominant position. Therefore, limiting participation in hunting helps reduce risks for male lions, ensuring their ability to effectively protect the pride and territory.
